Books for 2007

January 2007

1. Knitting Rules by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee *

2. Yarn Harlot, the Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee *

3. The Mango Season by Amulya Malladi

4. Footprints in the Sand D by Sarah Challis *

5. Sam’s Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson *

6. The Birth Order Book by Dr Kevin Leman

7. Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl by Kate McCafferty

8. The Jasmin Moon Murder (A Tea Shop Murder Mystery) by Laura Childs

9. No! I don’t want to Join Another Book Club by Virginia Ironside

10. (Un) Arranged Marriage by Bali Rai

11. Will You Be Mother?, Women who Choose to Say No by Jane Bartlett

12. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

13. Bound for Murder by Laura Childs

14. The Quilters Apprentice (Elm Creek Novel Book 1) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

15. Round Robin (Elm Creek Novel Book 2) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

February 2007

16. The Cross Country Quilters (Elm Creek Novel Book 3) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

17. The Runaway Quilt (Elm Creek Novel Book 4) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

18. The Quilter’s Legacy (Elm Creek Novel Book 5) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

19. The Master Quilter (Elm Creek Novel Book 6) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

20. The Sugar Camp Quilt (Elm Creek Novel Book 7) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

21. The Christmas Quilt (Elm Creek Novel Book 8) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

22. Circle of Quilters (Elm Creek Novel Book 9) by Jennifer Chiaverini *

23. The Florabama Ladies Auxiliary & Sewing Circle by Lois Battle

March 2007

24. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom *

25. Journey to the South by Annie Hawes

26. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

27. Practically Perfect by Katie Fforde

28. The Rose Revived by Katie Fforde

29. Paradise Fields by Katie Fforde

30. Stately Pursuits by Katie Fforde

31. Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich

32. Wild Designs by Katie Fforde

33. Life Skills by Katie Fforde

34. Sisters in the Wilderness by Charlotte Gray

35. Coyote Dreams by Jessica Davis Stein *

36. Letters Between A Father & A Son by V. S. Naipaul

37. Lucinda’s Secrets: The Spiderwick Chronicles Book 3 by Tony Diterizzi & Holly Black

April 2007

38. Do it Tomorrow, and Other Secrets of Time Management by Mark Forster

39. Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz

40. Buried Treasure by Victoria Finlay

41. A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes

42. Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald

May 2007

43. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs *

44. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank: A Novel by Ellen Feldman

45. Welcome to the Great Mysterious by Lorna Landvik

46. Animals Dream by Barbara Kingsolver (DNF)

47. Blue Slipper Bay by Wendy K Harris

48. Capability’s Eden by Diana Saville

49. Knitting by Anne Bartlett

June 2007

50. Toast by Nigel Slater

51. The Perfect Paragon (Agatha Raisin Mystery) by M. C. Beaton

52. Night by Elie Wiesel

53. Roots & All, A history of the Eaton & Hastings Families by Dinah Eaton

July 2007

54. The Founding (Moreland Dynasty Series Book 1) by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

55. 16, Lighthouse Road (Cedar Cove Series book 1) by Debbie Macomber

56. 204, Rosewood Lane (Cedar Cove Series book 2) by Debbie Macomber

57. 311, Pelican Court (Cedar Cove Series book 3) Debbie Macomber

58. 44, Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove Series book 4) Debbie Macomber

59. 50, Harbor Street (Cedar Cove Series book 5) by Debbie Macomber

60. The Quilter’s Homecoming (Elm Creek Novel Book 10) by Jennifer Chiaverini

61. Sullivan’s Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

62. Small Town Girl by LaVyrle Spencer

63. Amy’s Honeymoon by Julia Llewellyn

64. Bond of Blood by Benjamin Nicholls

65. Scuba Dancing by Nicola Slade

66. The Island by Victoria Hislop *

67. A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

August 2007

68. Murder in the Museum by Simon Brett

69. Murder in the Family Tree by Patricia Sprinkle *

70. Ancestors by Paul Crooks *

71. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

72. Puppet Maker by P. M. Mason *

73. In Search of Henry by Arnold Powell *

74. The Day the World Came to Town 9/11, In Gander, Newfoundland by Jim Defede

75. Susannah’s Garden by Debbie Macomber

76. Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson

September 2007

77. Murder Uncorked by Michele Scott

78. Murder by the Glass by Michele Scott

79. Silenced by Syrah by Michele Scott

80. A Misty Mourning by Rett MacPherson

81. Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton

82. Needled to Death by Maggie Sefton

83. A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton

84. On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

85. Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle

86. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

87. The Geographer’s Library by Jon Fasman

88. The Postcard by Beverly Lewis

89. The Crossroad by Beverly Lewis

90. The Sanctuary by Beverly Lewis

91. Stitches in Time by Barbara Michaels

October 2007

92. Sweatwater by Dorothy Garlock

93. Hero in Disguise by Vicki Lewis Thompson (Hometown Reunion book 4)

94. Those Baby Blues by Helen Conrad (Hometown Reunion book 5)

95. A Touch of Texas by Kristine Rolofson (Hometown Reunion book 7)

96. More than a year in time by Jane Lassen

November 2007

97. Life Planner (thought catcher) by Jennifer Percival

98. Blood Orange Brewing (Tea Shop Mystery) By Laura Childs

99. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

100. Rice Mother by Rani Manicki

101. Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

102. It’s my Party & I’ll knit if I want to by Sharon Aris

December 2007

103. Slippery when wet by Martin Goodman

104. Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon

105. Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester

106. Cane River by Lalita Tademy

107. Killing Cousins by Rett MacPherson

108. Dead Angler by Victoria Houston

109. The Xmas Factor by Annie Sanders

110. Siege by David Humphry

Siege by David Humphry

From the back cover - "Manchester 1976. The oldest living Victoria Cross holder and the last survivor of three friends who went to do their duty for Queen and country in the Boer War collapses at a remembrance Sunday service. A young newspaper reporter is assigned to cover the story and is treated to a unique first hand insight of life before and during the siege of Ladysmith in a long forgotten war, fought over three quarters of a century earlier. Natal 1899. Britain and her empire are at war with the Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. Three old school friends, Privates Charlie Browell, Walter Shawcross and Frank Hoyland are involved in their first armed conflict which will leave one of them dead and another the proud recipient of Britain’s highest gallantry award, the Victoria Cross. As the twentieth century beckons, this last great imperial war will have far reaching consequences for many people including the three generations of the van Oppen family, riding on commando together in the service of the Transvaal Republic; Sarah Dyson, a volunteer nurse who finds love among death, disease and deprivation; Ada Dunkley, matriarch of a prominent Ladysmith family, left shattered by the tragedy of a murder of which and innocent man is accused and Joseph Ncube, a fifteen year old Zulu boy left disillusioned as his loyalty and courage are quickly forgotten after the siege is lifted."

The author is a member of the Boer War mailing list and a web page about the book is Here

Purchased a signed,advance copy from the author.

A page turning story about a young reporter sent to interview the last surviving British soldier of the Boer War. The reporter sits and listens as the old soldier relives the moments and events of 1899. The stench of illness & death, the friendships which were so treasured because they could be snatched away through the events of war, the way the black South Africans who were unrewarded for their involvement in the war were treated, and of the nurses who cared for the soldiers against all odds.

Entwined through the story are three generations of South Africans who are fighting the same war, but on opposite sides and of how one of the medals of the eldest generation of this family came to be back in Manchester with the surviving British soldier.

A really enjoyable book, well researched, and will there be a sequel?......Very thought provoking to someone who has an ancestor who fought in the Boer War.


William Arthur West in South Africa 1899-1902 with a boy soldier


This photo is a group of Soldiers in the Royal Medical Corps during 1899-1902. My Ancestor, William Arthur West is in the back row, second from the right

The Xmas Factor by Annie Sanders

"The hilarious new novel from Annie Sanders about two very busy mothers and how their Christmases collide"....Bella Magazine

Well, I would not describe the book as Hilarious. It was a lovely gentle story of four people whose lives become entwined.....Jacob and his younger second wife, Jacob's daughter Holly who plays the "terrible stepdaughter" role and is journalist who works with Carol, at a failing magazine whose Christmas becomes entwined with Holly, Jacob & Holly. Carol is a single mum who meets a musician called Nick, who indirectly helps Carol gain a fabulous scoop, which is a tragic story dealt with in a compassionate manner.

Dead Angler by Victoria Houston

This is the first book in what looks to be a promising series.

Paul Osbourne, or as he in known in Loon Lake, Doc, is starting to fish again. He is recommended to spend sometime with Lou who is excellent at fishing.....Lou is not the man Doc is expecting, but a divorced woman and the local police chief and called Lew.

While on the initial fishing trip Doc stumbles over what he thinks is a truck of wood only to find that it is a body, the body of a school friend of his daughter. What could have been passed off an a tragic accident is spotted by Doc as suspicious based upon that the victim has had all her gold fillings removed! As they investigate the plot thickens.......

KIilling Cousins by Rett Macpherson

Torie's mother marries Colin Brooke the town sherrif. Colin also owns the loval antique shop, and has purchased the contents of a local well known recluse and asks Torie to catalogue them while he is on his honeymoon. Meanwhile, Sylvia of the local historical society asks Torie to write a biography of the same local recluse - a lady called Catherine Finch. What unfolds is that Catherine's youngest child, 60 odd years ago vanished from his bed.....meanwhile a man is found dead in a derilict building that is just about to be demolished. Did he die from natural causes or was he murdered? Either way he is the nephew of Catherine Finch, the coincidences stack up and whetting Torie's appetite for investigation. Then the demolishion crew find the remains of a young baby....the plot gets thicker and thicker.....

NSS Santa 2007

NSS Santa 2007
Originally uploaded by AnglersRest

Thanks to my Secret Santa who was SwanOfKennet

I have been very spoilt. My parcel contained four books, three from my
wish list -

• Italian Food by Elizabeth David

• Genealogy, a novel by Maud Casey

• Dead Angler by Victoria Houston

• Edwardian Rambles by Henry Atty

Several bars of chocolate - mint aero, whole nut & a pack of mint creams.
A bar of fudge, and a pack of 20 engraving fish stickers, plus a lovely
card with a photo of one of the kitten's on.

Thanks SwanOfKennet, you have truely spolt me.

Happy Christmas!

Cane River by Lalita Tademy

This is the incrediable story of three generations of the author's ancestry. Through their years as slaves, to their freedom. Their loves and dispair, grief and bewilderment. The novel does not portray the many horrors that slaves suffered at the hands of their "owners". Wonderfully and lovingly the author has attempted to peice together their lives, using official documentation and living memory

.

Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester

A compelling story of four people whose lives are entwined. Tom Stewart who in the early 1930s leaves the UK for Hong Kong, leaving behind his only family, a Grandmother & his brother and the public house they run. On the boat he meets an assortment of people and becomes involved in a bet, that he can not learn Cantonese. Sister Maria, the person responsible for him learning Cantonese. As Tom leaves the boat he is given the name of someone who will, given, he can now speak Cantonese give him a job. His friendship with Sister Maria develops and lasts until her death.....The remainder of the four characters are Matthew Ho who is Anglo Chinese, and grandson to Tom, who meets Dawn Stone on her maiden flight to Hong Kong. Their lives become completely entwined as they, in one way and another fight for survival.

Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon

This has finally made it to the top of Mountain TBR! A fascinating account of the military and sexual underworld of London during 18th Century, and with focus on Lord John from the Outlander Series, who sets about trying to establish if his cousin will marry Trevelyan, who it seems has a transmitted disease....plus there is the event of a missing soldier who is found murdered...... Can be read as a standalone book from the Outlander Series, which is equally fascinating!

Slippey when wet by Martin Goodman

I wasn't sure just what to make of this book, but nonetheless, it was a compelling read. The story of Maggie who is eccentric to say the least, who, upon hearing that her husband has died in another woman's bed then manages to put her dead husband into the car and drive him home. If that wasn't strange enough Maggie then leaves home without burying her husband, making arrangements with her grand daughter to send the ashes to her in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, Maggie befriends a young man, Seppen, and eventually seduces him, before leaving for Thailand where she scatters her husband's ashes. Although I found the book in places strange, there was something about it that made me devour it in just over two days.

It's My Party and I'll Knit If I Want To! by Sharon Aris

An amusing and light hearted look at knitting. For me it was nice that it focused on knitting in Australia, a Country close to my heart. It didn't make we want to rush out and grab my needles, but it did make me realise that I miss my Aussie family more than I thought! - I enjoyed the mini biographies of those being interviewed and it was good to get pointers towards mailing lists and web sites.