Have you ever listened to an Audio Book?  I have been, over the last few months, when I have been at Eldest’s work and about two have been successful the others not so much!  Quite a few have ended and I thought well the author didn’t know how to end that and one I actually did not finish!!!!  I have started a new one this week and I am hoping that this one will be better.  However I have been finding with actual books the same problem with them, the story goes along quite well and we get to the end of it is rushed as if they did not know what to do!

Anyway  I have done well with reading this month not only a book from my TBR shelf but Jayne’s and my Book Club Book as well! 

I have read quite a few of Karen Rose’s books and loved them.  This is the second book about Kit McKittrick Homicide Detective in San Diego where she is called to a dead body at The Shady Oaks Retirement Home.  The body turns out to be retired Detective Frank Flynn and Kit wonders if he was investigating something, then the head of security is also found dead, will Kit be able to find out who the Murderer is before anyone else dies?

It is a good old mystery book and well written.

This was Jayne’s pick for our Book Club for April.  I have read a few of Harlan Coben’s books before and enjoyed them and quite a few have been made into mini dramas on Netflix. I read this along with the book above and did manage to keep both stories separate!  “Six Years” begins with a wedding of Natalie to Todd attended by Jake Fisher.  Natalie is the love of Jake’s life and he is heartbroken watching her marry Todd.  After the wedding Nataliie approaches him and tells him not to look for her or try and contact her ever again, Jake promises but six year’s later he sees an Obituary for Todd and feels that he should now contact Natalie and offer his condolences.  He turns up at the funeral only to find a different woman and two children at the grave side and it is not Natalie!  Where is she and why is she not here?  Thus begins a search for Natalie which leads Jake down a very dark road, will he survive and find her?

I did enjoy it and it had a good ending which was a relief after quite a few stories which did not!!!

This is my choice for Jayne and my May Book Club book.  It is another murder mystery but a historical one this time.  The book is set in 1901 and Gabriel Ward, Barrister, steps out of his Chambers on a sunny May morning to find the Lord Chief Justice of England dead on the doorstep.  He is dressed in evening wear but has no shoes on and there is a large sterling silver carving knife in his chest.  The Police have no powers in The Temple so it is up to Gabriel to investigate but how difficult can it be, he knows what to do from his cases in Court but it turns out to be a lot harder and a lot of secrets start to spill out?

I think I will enjoy this and hopefully it will have a good ending and not too waffling!!  I also hope that Jayne will enjoy it.  I am loving our new Book Club and it is definitely making me read.

In other crafts I am still quilting although I did not get any done last weekend.  We were all at Eldest’s on Saturday for family day.  The weather was amazing and we sat outside and had a really lovely day.  Sunday not so good as DH was poorly.  Little Man has not been well so we don’t know whether DH has caught what he has had, but then the MD at the company we work with in Nottingham has not been well all weekend too and DH was with him all day Thursday, so he could have caught it from him!  So we had a quiet Sunday.

Speaking of quilting I have to get on with the Baby quilt as the Baby has arrived, a month early!  So in my defence he is a little early but I will get on with it this weekend.  He is very well even though he is early but they are staying in hospital just to make sure.  I will not be seeing him for a while yet but have been able to see a photograph of him on WhatsApp and he looks very settled.  DH is out both days this weekend at a swimming event, so I will have time then to get things done.

Spring Cleaning has been happening.  I got two jobs done in one when we did the painting of Eldest & Youngest’s rooms.  They look great and as we put the furniture back I cleaned and tided it.  We also painted the main Bathroom but I just need to clean the tiles in there.  At the end of the month is another long weekend and our room and dressing room will be painted and again I will clean everything as it goes back.  Then that will be the upstairs done.  It won’t take long to do the sitting, dining rooms and our Den.  The kitchen is always the worst as there are so many nooks to get into to clean, but it will only take a day to do.  Hopefully by the end of May it will all be done.

DH has been mowing the lawn every week but we need to get in and do some tidying there and also re-do the pots with the spring/summer flowers.  I want to wash them before re-doing them.  We sorted the shed out at the end of last year and that is still tidy and I want to paint all the outside furniture, my grow house and the shed which will be done on another sunny warm day.  I also need to put new compost in my vegetable bed and I am going to plant some salad leaves in there with tomatoes and I am going to try a cucumber as well.  I also want to put some seeds in for next year too.  I am still decluttering and now the weather is getting better, I will be in the garage sorting out the boxes that are in there now.  I could really do with an extra few days in the week!!!!

This week I need to get our business ready for its new year on June 1st but that usually doesn’t take me long!!!  There is a box of shredding I need to do but I can watch something on TV whilst I am doing that!

I hope you all lhad a great weekend and a good week to come. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx

I honestly don’t know where the days go to!  We start the week off fairly quiet and normal and by Friday it is chaos and mayhem!!  Friday Coco had her Spa Day, I had my hair cut too and we went to see Partner and Little Man.  Saturday we saw Youngest & Fiancé and go some jobs done and Sunday we were going to finish those jobs and the day got away from us.  This week is supposed to be quiet but Easter long weekend we are going to get the spare room decorated so we can then furnish it and the garden done and I am having the whole family for dinner on Easter Sunday!  Just another quiet time!!!!!

Anywho I did not get Book Club Friday done in time, so here it is today :

This is Jayne’s and my first Book Club Book between us.  I ended up at Christmas with two copies of it, so thought it would be a good idea to be our first book.  

Hazel runs the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore in Dream Harbor and she begins to find books defaced, mainly in the Romance section.  The books have various phrases underlined and then the page corner turned down!  She cannot understand who is doing it but the phrases start to connect in her brain.  Noah, the local trip fisherman, comes in every week and buys a new book and finds Hazel with one of the defaced books in her hand.  He decides to help her find out who the culprit is and what it means because he really likes her and wants to spend time with her.  Hazel really likes him too but does not think he would want to go out with her, this almost thirty year old spinster book nerd.  Can they find love in Dream Harbor?

I did like it, but thought that it could have ended 10 chapters earlier!!!  There was a bit of going backwards and forwards with the characters which were a bit uncessary but it was an easy read.

Jayne and I are being Ladies who Lunch tomorrow and we can discuss the book then and also catch up as we haven’t seen each other for quite a few weeks.  It is also Jayne’s turn to choose the book.  We are going to a large bookstore in Derbyshire, The High Peak Booskstore near Buxton,  so we can have some lunch in their cafe and get the new book. The building used to be a garage and when it closed the current owner’s parents bought it and turned it into the Bookstore and she has now taken over since they retired.  I will try and get some pictures.

As you know for those that read Book Club posts, I have also been listening to books on my iPod and Phone when I am at Eldest’s or when I am working at home.  The above was the latest I listened to and it was good.

A serial killer is stalking the suburbs of London and young women are terrified.  Midnight Jones works at a forward thinking tech company who provide profiles for their clients to ensure the right people are employed or on the correct university courses.  As much as the company is lauded for their new working methods, actually working there is very hard.  Midnight also looks after her disabled twin sister and so needs her job to pay for her sister, Dawn’s, carers.  One day Midnight is reviewing a file and it brings up a problem and is classified as a Profile-K, when she looks at it she is horrified at what she sees and reports it to her boss thinking that this person could quite easily be the serial killer.  The company sweep it under the rug and Midnight is re-assigned to another department but not before they and the serial killer know what has happened and he is now on her tail.

I did like the story and it did move along at quite a quick pace and finished well.  So if you like thrillers then this one is for you.

One thing I have been finding with books and films is that it is good and you are enjoying it and then you get to the end and it is a damp squib!  Almost like the author/director does not know how to end the book or film especially with the books, it is almost as if they run out of steam and it fizzles out. That was definitely the case with the previous audio book I listened to, “The Crime Writer” by Diane Jeffrey.  The ending really spoilt the rest of the book which was very good.

I have just started this book.  I have read several of Karen Rose’s books and always liked them so I will let you know how I get on with this one.  I hope you have a wonderful week and will see you here tomorrow. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx

This week has flown by and it has been busier than I thought it was going to be.  Yesterday DH and I went to visit a long standing customer in North Wales and the weather for the drive was great; very sunny but very cold!  On the way we got to see the seaside and also quite a lot of very tiny lambs!  Spring has really sprung. I did take my book with me and got quite a few hours of uninterrupted reading and it was glorious.

This is my Book for March and have just finished and loved it.  I have read quite a few of Edward Marston’s books now and love the Railway Detective ones.

It is 1866 and Giles Blanchard has just finished dining at his Club in Chichester and gets on the train in First Class to go to Portsmouth so he can get the ferry back to his home on the Isle of White. In the carriage is a young woman who starts to talk to him, just before the train leaves a naval officer climbs in to the same carriage.  Just as things begin to be interesting between Giles Blanchard and the young woman he is attacked from behind and strangled to death by the naval officer.  The woman and he leave the carriage at the next station and move to another train.

When Mr Blanchard’s body is discovered Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming are dispatched from London to Portsmouth to try and discover who killed him and why.  It is further complicated by a rash of women on the Isle of white, Chichester and Portsmouth being blackmailed by a woman and man who threaten them including one young woman who is companion to Queen Victoria, currently residing at Osborne House on the Isle of White. Can Colbeck & Leeming find the culprits quickly?

I love these mystery books as they are historical but also quite gentle and well written.  They can be found in all formats at the usual suppliers.

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This is the book I have now started, which is the first book of Jayne and my Book Club.  I already have a few of Laurie Gilmore books so I am sure I will love this one too.  I look forward to hearing what Jayne thinks.

Today has been busy; my new washing machine has been delivered so I can now catch up on all the washing I need to do and I need to make a start on my home jobs too.  DH has been out all day with Eldest and tomorrow they are going to look at this car.  Tomorrow evening we are at the local pool for the final round of the League and then Sunday DH is out all day at another swimming event and I will be quilting.

I hope you have all had a lovely week and a great weekend to come. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx

Well I thought it was going to be a quiet week but in fact it has been really busy!  DH is back at Eldest’s today sorting out a few things and I have not got a vehicle at the moment because Eldest’s needs a repair and is waiting on the part, so he is using mine until the part arrives! Not that I am bothered as I have plenty to do at home!

As we have had a book theme week I thought I would carry on today with books.  I mentioned about whether it is considered “reading” when you listen to a book.  I know of a few Bookstagram people who not only read the book but listen to it also, not sure if it is at the same time or as well as!  I have been listening to books whilst I have been with Eldest at his business and quite enjoyed it, although I am not sure about the book I am listening to at the moment.

K. L. Slater is from Nottingham and still lives there, which is DH and my hometown, so this was why I decided to download this book as it is also set in Nottingham.  

Saffy gets a message from her childhood best friend Leona “Can’t speak….don’t text or call…..please just come”.  She sees the message and then it disappears.  When she gets to Leona’s home she is there with her young daughter, Saffy’s Goddaughter and her husband and everything is okay, well Leona tries to persuade Saffy it is.  Saffy leaves to collect her young son from nursery worried about her friend but she has her own worries and needs to sort her own life out without interferring in her friends.  Then she finds the Police on her doorstep as Leona, her husband and young daughter have disappeared and Saffy was the last person to see them.  They begin to question her but not as a witness but more as a suspect!

I liked the first bit of the book until the Police started to question Saffy and it has been written with quite a heavy hand and from the point of view that they believe Saffy to be guilty of the disappearnce.  However that really could not be the case for one women to disappear two grown adults, one of them a man, and a little girl who is her Goddaughter.  It really does not come across very well.  Then for the next several chapters it waffles along bringing in Saffy’s own troubled life with her ex-husband and his attitude towards her and the fact that he has full custody of their young son and is using him as a weapon over Saffy.

It is one of those books in which I will carry on to see what happens in the end but I don’t think I will read/listen to any of her other books.  Of course this is just my opinion and if you look there are quite a lot of people who absolutely loved the book, good job we are all different!

One series I have really enjoyed is the above one with June Whitfield as Miss Marple.  Sadly no longer with us, June Whitfield was an amazing actress, mainly comedy, but so talented on the radio too and in the theatre.  I think I will be looking for more of these to listen to and getting some books on Audio that I have already read and know that I like so that I can listen to them whilst at Eldest’s.

This week the weather has been quite spring like during the day but cold at night with frosts in the early morning but at least we have seen the sun for a while.  This weekend it is even going to be 17°c during the day but then next week back to normal temperatures.  It means that the garden will start to grow so that will need to be added to the list of jobs to get done as well!

Happy Friday you lovely lot and I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco Bookworm xxxx

We have a book theme going on this week on my Blog.  Today is World Book Day and I am hoping  to be able to do some reading later.  

My Local Library, Aspley, Nottingham.

Books played a big part in my life from when I was little.  Every Saturday afternoon Mom, Dad and I used to walk to our local library and get our books for the week.  We all loved books and in our local library there was a room right next to the check out desk which was for the children’s library.  After a while having read a lot of the books I was anxious to get my “grown up” reading cards so I could choose books from the main part of the library.  I will always remember getting those tickets and as you were in the main library you got six!

These are the old type of tickets you were issued with and the Librarians used to put the slip from the book into them so they knew who had checked the book out.

The library was a great place and of course it was long before computers and Google at home so if you had homework assignments you quite often had to go to the Library to find the information to complete it!  Our local library also had a room which had desks in for you to do work at.  I used the library for a long time even after my parents had passed, but then I was earning and I started to buy books with my paychecks.  So began my collection of books!

If you have followed me for a while you know that with the books we own I do re-read them again and again but DH does not as he has an extremely good memory and can remember the books which says a lot about my brain!!!!  I also love to keep my books as they are like friends, even if I have not read them for a while.

The Boys in The British Library, London in 2005.  They were nine and five.

Our Boys had lots of books when they were little and they too love reading although they do not read as much as they used to, they do read when away on holiday.  They always used to love World Book Day at school as they got to choose a book each to add to their collections.  We have started Little Man off on his book journey with quite a few books already.  For his Birthday we bought him the Ultimate Book of Vehicles and he loved it.

We took the Boys to Hatchards, the Oldest Bookshop in London, in 2005 and here they are choosing books.  Youngest managed to find one of the small seats and was quite happy sitting there going through the books, the pile at his feet are his selections!

I hope you get chance to do some reading on World Book Day.

Yesterday I was with Eldest at his business doing paperwork and the accounts and I got there at 7.00am and left at 8.00pm!  It was a very long day and freezing cold although we did see the sun for a little while.  Today is home job day as well as washing and ironing.  Grocery shopping tomorrow and I am hoping to get the quilts cut out tomorrow so I can begin to sew this weekend.

Have a great Thursday and it is almost the weekend. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco Bookworm xxx

You all know how much I love reading and my books and so does my best friend Jayne, who I lunch with once a month.  Anywho in January I suggested to Jayne that we make our own little Book Club, just the two of us, as she loves reading too and we are very alike in our tastes.  She thought it was a great idea so today, as well as lunch, we had our inaugural meeting of our Book Club.

We didn’t manage to meet up during February as she and I were too busy with things on, so whilst DH was away at the beginning of February for the week I put together some things to mark the start of our Book Club including the first book as I had two copies of the same book for Christmas.  I bought one copy then DH bought me another copy as part of my Christmas presents, so I thought that would be the perfect one to start with. 

I made a book cosy for both of us and a book mark in the same material

I got us a magnetic bookmark each with our names on.

A pen and little pin badge.

A cotton book bag to keep everything in.

A Pride & Prejudice Bag Charm with a tea cup, book and hat on and below some book stickers.

You cannot read without a mug of tea and these teabags came with book quotes on them.

The pin badge.

The above is a book journal to record the books we read and our opinions etc, also with our names on.

This is our first book “The Cinnamon Bun Book Store” by Laurie Gilmore which is quite appropriate.  It is a cosy mystery book.

We have arranged to see each other for lunch on April 15th which is five weeks away so we think that will be ample time for us both to read the book and then discuss it when we see each other.  People have often said you must belong to various Book Clubs but I have always stayed away from them because the ones I do know of locally, the books they choose are, in one word, depressing!  I am sure to them they think they are wonderful but I think of them as being esoteric or thought provoking.  I, however, read to escape and read for enjoyment not to make me depressed!

I thought I would show you my TBR shelves as they stand at the moment :

This shelf holds my fantasy books, my crime books and my Christmas books to read, as well as some of the Clive Cussler books I am reading too.

The middle shelf here holds my Biographies, my Historical books, and crime books.

The middle shelf here holds my Agatha Christie books, books on London and about Bookshops, some of my recipe and garden books and some other factual books.

There are quite a lot but this is one of my Aims this year is to do more reading but to also get my TBR shelves down a little bit.  I did say to Jayne that having our little Book Club would also be a good idea to keep me reading.  So we will not only be Ladies Who Lunch but Ladies Who Read too!  I think, as both our Birthdays are in June, we should call it The Gemini Book Club, what do you think?

Our next get together in April is to a local, well local-ish, bookshop called The High Peak Bookstore near Buxton, Derbyshire.  It is well known, if a good drive away but hopefully the weather will be nice and it is a lovely drive.  The building used to be an old Garage and it was bought and turned into the bookstore and the original owners have retired but their daughter runs it now.  There is also a cafe so we can get some lunch too.  We will be able to pick our next book to read then.

Really looking forward to our new Book Club.

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco Bookworm xxxx

Well February’s Book Club has come round quickly and as we always say where are the weeks going to?

I am keeping up with my Aims of doing more reading this year and have managed to finish two books but I have also listened to three on my Apple iPod whilst I am working or doing home jobs.  Some people say that this is not really “reading” but then others say yes it is as although you are listening to the book you are still getting into the story.  So for February’s Book Club I will show you the Book I listened to

This is about three women in the village of Churchwood who meet.  Alice who is the retired Doctor’s Daughter who have just moved to the village since his retirment. Kate who lives on one of the local farms with her father and brothers who treat her like a slave and dress her like one of them and Naomi who owns the big house in the village and is in charge of all the local charitable good works.

Alice had damaged her hand whilst still in London and is not back to full health and is very concious of it, Kate is very concious of how everyone feels about her family and especially how she looks and acts and Naomi is concious of how everyone sees her as being stuck up and too good for the village.  The three of them come together and form a strong bond of kinship and help the village and the wounded servicemen at the local hospital by starting their own bookshop, they also discover whilst organising the bookshop a traiter in their midst.

To be honest this is only the second book I have listened to on my iPod, the first one being a book that I had already read and new the story, thinking that this would be better for me as I already knew what was going to happen.  I did wonder if I would actually listen to the story if I was busy working, but it is amazing how good our brains are at doing two things at once and I did manage to listen to the story and work!  I have also gone on to download two other books to the iPod to listen to in the future. 

It would never stop me from reading the books, which I do still prefer but being able to listen to the story whilst working works well.  The Wartime Bookshop was a lovely story, not too taxing but it was well written and read and I already have, in printed form, the next book in the series The Wartime Bookshop at Christmas so I will be reading that!  I have just started to read this book, below, and have read quite a few of Mr Marston’s books already and do love them.

The view from the Cafe.

This weekend is entirely free, no swimming, so we have a few jobs to do and we are going to see Little Man tomorrow.  This morning DH was not working so we went out to Chatsworth Farm Shop cafe for breakfast and it was lovely.  The weather was very cold and frosty so we are still in the depths of winter but it is supposed to get a little warmer later in the week, just in time for us to help Youngest & Fiance move in to their new home next weekend!

Have a wonderful weekend you lovely lot. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx

Someboday loves Henry Hoover!

This is my book which I have been reading at the end of December and into January and one of the many that I have had on my TBR shelf!  I love reading the Christmas mystery books before Christmas and at this time of year too.

Roz Parker has just retired from the Police Force after thirty years and is leaving London on the sleeper train to The Highlands of Scotland, her original home, to be with her daughter and partner as they are expecting their first baby, a Granddaughter.  However as with all good mysteries the weather is not co-operating on the run up to the Christmast holidays with heavy snow causing a lot of cancellations.  They are waiting in the First Class lounge and Roz is intrigued by her fellow travellers.

One young couple are semi-famous being reality TV stars, she an influencer and him a arrogant reality TV wannabe.  There are also a family of five in the sleeper bit, a son and his mother and four young students going North to compete in a quiz to see who will be picked for a university course.  A very mixed bag. 

They think their journey is going to end before it begins with the sleeper train being cancelled but it fights its way through the weather to London for the return journey to The Highlands and they all board, however not all of them will be getting off at the end!  Roz will have to take charge and find out who the murderer is before they strike again before she can begin her retirement in earnest!

I am on Page 209 of 326 and will probably finish it this weekend.  I am really enjoying it as it is not too taxing but Alexandra Benedict does move the story along well and you feel engaged with the characters without being annoyed.

Here is a sneak peak of my next book, which I have been carrying around with me just in case I finished the one above!

Molly the Maid is busy with her job at The Regency Grand Hotel getting everything ready for Christmas but her boyfriend, Juan, keeps disappearing and the corridors are wispering things and someone is keeping a secret, will they manage to solve the mystery before Christmas?  It is only 128 pages long but I think it will be a lovely little story.

Been out all day today with DH visiting customers and companies we work with and a few personal jobs.  This weekend we are beginning the 2025 de-cluttering of our home and tomorrow evening is another swimming event.  Have a wonderful January weekend. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx