Hobbies and Crafts

A book I cannot recommend enough is Pearls Of Childhood by Vera Gissing. Vera was born in Czechoslovakia in 1928. Aged just 11 Vera and her older sister Eva escaped on the Kindertransport. Vera began writing diaries of her experiences and these form the basis of her book.

Despite first reading this book aged 12 it is not a children’s book and at times it made difficult reading but I couldn’t put it down.

I’m now rereading First Light by Geoffrey Wellum. I absolutely love this book about his experience training to be a fighter pilot just as WW2 is about to break out.

Tess it is on tomorrow night 8th, 9pm BBC1.

Many moons ago the GREaders group rwad a book called "Elizabeth is Missing2

A very unusual format, but nevertheless gripping (if annoying in parts) and interesting.

The narrator is a confused and worried older person, trying to find her friend.

It is now going to be on t.v. soon! But at the moment I can't find the details. I am as about as confused as Elizabeth's friend.

I am really looking forward to it, and will tell you more when I get the details.

P.S. Starring Glenda Jackson!

Not managing to do much reading recently. Have taken back all my library books without getting more. intend reading through some of the "waiting" books on my shelves, (and perhaps recycling some of them) before getting another batch from the library.

However, i was lucky enough to be able to go to see (and listen to) "An audience with Margaret Atwood" in Birmingham a recently.

An interesting evening. I really must reread "Handmaids Tale" and get some more of her books.

Will be back again when I manage to read a book cover to cover.

I have a list of "to be read" books, often recommendations from this thread, and every so often I check whether any of them are available at a sensible price on kindle or available at the library. I recently found "Secret Scriptures" by Sebastian Barry on the Libby app so had it as a loan on my iPad. Doing a search just now I found it was one of the Greaders books from 2009!

I'm not sure I really liked the style of writing and once or twice I found the plot a bit confusing but I am glad I read it. I guessed at some relationships between characters fairly early on but didn't cotton on to others until they were explained in the last chapter or two. I am pleased I stuck with it and finished this book but I won't be rushing to look for others by this author.

I also picked up from the bookshelf in the Community Centre "Fatal Voyage" by Kathy Reichs, one of the books featuring the forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan. Tempe Brennan is sent to help identify the victims of a plane crash from the various body parts around the crash site. A severed foot does not appear to belong to any of the passengers on the plane's manifest so whose is it? I can't say much without giving the plot away but the book is basically a murder mystery. It is quite complex with a number of sub-plots but good if you like this genre.

I have now just started reading "Tombland" by C J Sansom. It is the latest in the series of books featuring Matthew Shardlake, the hunch-backed lawyer/detective. I enjoy this series of Tudor murder mysteries as they revolve around real events and real people and are very well written. I had looked in the library and on Libby for Tombland and it didn't seem to be available. The kindle edition was hardly any cheaper than the paperback at £8.99 but I saw the paperback in Sainsbury's last week for £3.99 so treated myself. The trouble is I do most of my reading laying down in bed and this book is so thick that you can hardly open the pages and it's very heavy.

<3 <3

Thanks Emma yes I will do that, fist though I have to finish my Christmas card making. And get some of these paper backs read. Just finished Still me by Jo Jo Moyes. Very good.

Amazon.co.uk Ann and ask for customer support.

Or go into your Amazon account and scroll down to
bottom of page and hit help.

Yes I ought to, I just got so annoyed with it that I have left it. I will have another go.... soon!!!

Oh forgot to say no point in phoning I won't be able to hear so I have to find an email contact address.

Ann phone them cause they should show on you're
new one. :-)

Emma I have bought a new kindle but I am blowed if I can get my books transferred to it. As it happens the old one is still working but it is frustrating.

Thanks Emma. I might try phoning for a bit of advice.

Vera can't help but my OH bought a new kindle
and all his books were transferred to it.
He wasn't sure if he would lose them so he phoned
and chap was very helpful.

Hallo all

Isn't anyone reading much lately or not reading anything worth writing about? I wouldn't like this thread to disappear as I have had some good book recommendations from it.

Over the last few weeks I finished reading A Life of My Own, Claire Tomalin's autobiography. I've read a couple of her biographies of famous people in history and enjoyed them but I didn't like this book very much. I kept feeling I should have been more moved by it as she did have a lot of tragedy in her life but I thought she came across as a bit of a snob and a name dropper.

I also read The Sticklepath Strangler by Michael Jecks, one in his series of novels centred around Sir Baldwin Furzehill. Basically it's a medieval murder mystery - pure escapism but well written and enjoyable.

Currently I have almost finished Daughters of the Dragon by William Andrews. During WW11 thousands of Korean girls and young women were forced to become "comfort women", basically sex slaves, for the Japanese Army occupying Korea. This is the story of one such girl both during the war and up to about 2008 and how she suffered and what she had to do to survive. The story is tied up with an antique comb which her mother gave to her and her sister when they were taken away to the "comfort station" and the significance of this comb. She tells the story to her granddaughter who was adopted as a baby by an American couple and is now visiting Korea and has met up with her grandmother.

The book is fiction but based on what did happen to these girls. It is believed that about 200,000 girls were forced to become "comfort women". The author's writing style is fairly simple and easy to read but the story itself in places is quite hard to take .I am glad I read it as I knew nothing about this.

I went to buy a book for my Kindle yesterday and it wouldn't download, then I noticed that my Kindle had lost its wifi connection. Googling to find out what to do I discovered I have to totally restart the Kindle and if that doesn't work I have to restore the factory settings and re-register it. I haven't done it yet as I don't want to risk losing all the books on it. Am I right in thinking that they are automatically backed up to the cloud? Has anyone else had this happen and, if so, what did you do about it please?

~~~~~~~s to everyone <3 <3 hope everyone is in fine fettle mwahhhhh

I have just started reading The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff £2 paperback
on Amazon....

Already a page turner and a very easy read as are all Pam Jenoff's books

1940s With the world at war, Eleanor Trigg leads a mysterious ring of female secret agents in London. Twelve of these women are sent to aid the resistance.
They never return home.
1946 Passing through Grand Central Station, New York, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. The case is filled with a dozen photographs, each of a different woman.
Setting out to find the women behind the pictures, Grace is drawn into the mystery of the lost girls of Paris. And as she delves deeper into the secrets of the past, she uncovers a story of fierce friendship, unthinkable bravery – and, ultimately, the worst kind of betrayal.

Finished reading Children of Nazis, very interesting read.

Phillipa Gregory latest book out today "Tidelands"

For an introduction about it Amazon has a write up on it.

Reading Children of Nazis first one was Gudrun Himmler the only
child who was not illegitimate.
She believes her father did no wrong and even though proof was shown
what he did she did not believe it.
A staunch supporter of him and she herself is of the same belief in what
Hitler had laid out for Germany.
She did not believe her father committed suicide and was killed by the Americans.

Next one is Edda Goring who was the only child of Hermann Goring by his second
wife Emmy Sonnemann who was a German actress.

Elizabeth was extremely unkind bordering on cruel to both Katherine and Mary Grey, Jane of course was executed by her predecessor Mary 1st in 1554 after her tragic 9 days as Queen. I think Elizabeth was very insecure, as there were many who felt that her right to the throne was somewhat tenuous, and that both Mary of Scotland and the Grey sisters had a better claim.