WWW Wednesday: 10/11/2021

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you will read next?

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have sadly come down with a cold but I usually do this time of year due to teaching children. This means that all I really want to do is curl up with a mug of tea, a blanket and a good book.

What I am Currently Reading

I had a really good day reading SPQR yesterday while waiting for a very late delivery driver. I really enjoy Beard’s humour in this book, she makes history come to life. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is brilliant and I just love reading about Poirot.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

Really enjoyed this but it did feel rather rushed at times and more like a big list rather than stories.

What I Think I will Read Next

So many books to read. I’m building a nice Christmas TBR for December as well. I just love Christmas books.

Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie (Review)

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

Blurb

What is The Secret of Chimneys? A young drifter finds out when a favour for a friend pulls him into the heart of a deadly conspiracy in this captivating classic from Agatha Christie.

Little did Anthony Cade suspect that an errand for a friend would place him at the centre of a deadly conspiracy. Drawn into a web of intrigue, he begins to realise that the simple favour has placed him in serious danger.

As events unfold, the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Sûreté gradually converge on Chimneys, the great country estate that hides an amazing secret. . . . 

Review

This was the next book in my Christie challenge and I think it is probably my favourite so far. I really could not put this book down and just loved all the red herrings that Christie throws at you. 

Now I will be honest there is an element of the ridiculous in this story and usually that annoys me but this time I just found it added to the story. Anthony Cade is doing a favour for a friend because the money is good and because he likes an outrageous adventure and he thinks that this favour will throw him into some interesting circumstances and he is not disappointed. 

As the story moves on Cade is drawn to the house Chimneys which is the setting of a house party for political reasons. Virginia Revel is also at this house party and she is definitely the star of the show. Virginia is a woman that men find themselves drawn to and she knows how to use this to her advantage. She is also a woman who likes a weird experience or adventure and because of this she finds herself dealing with the mysterious events at Chimneys. 

This is essentially a political thriller with a few surprises and some fun characters. The book is fast paced like Bundle’s driving, who I also think was my favourite character. I must admit I did not see the ending at all which was really good because I hate a predictable book. I happily give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Purchase links

Book Depository | Foyles | Waterstones | Wordery

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About the author

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections. She also wrote the world’s longest running play, The Mousetrap. She also wrote 6 novels under the name Mary Westmacott.

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Reading My Height in Books #10

Hello!

It is time for the latest update of the enormous book stack. I must admit it is getting quite scary now when I assemble it and the pile in the corner where they are all stored is even scarier.

9 books were added to the stack in October. I’m laughing in the photo because my husband was making me laugh with his photographer impressions.

The new height is 48.5 inches! Just 18.5 inches to go.

Here are the pictures from the previous months.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

WWW Wednesday: 3/11/2021

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you will read next?

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far.

What I am Currently Reading

I have been thoroughly enjoying reading all about the local ghosts near me but I must admit the book does feel rather rushed for me.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

I really enjoyed this book and it has made me realise that I miss reading Dickens so it is high time I dug out my Dickens books and started reading them again.

What I Think I will Read Next

As per usual I am never quite sure what I will read next.

Please drop me comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

Maigret Challenge #1

Hello!

I thought it was time for an update on my Maigret reading challenge. I did read some Maigret books in October so I have a few more books ticked off the list.

  1. Pietr the Latvian
  2. The Late Monsieur Gallet
  3. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien
  4. The Carter of La Providence
  5. The Yellow Dog
  6. Night at the Crossroads
  7. A Crime in Holland
  8. The Grand Banks Cafe
  9. A Man’s Head
  10. The Dancer at Gai-Moulin
  11. The Two-Penny Bar
  12. The Shadow Puppet
  13. The Saint-Fiacre Affair
  14. The Flemish House
  15. The Madman of Bergerac
  16. The Misty Harbour
  17. Liberty Bar
  18. Lock No.1
  19. Maigret
  20. Cecile is Dead
  21. The Cellars of the Majestic
  22. The Judge’s House
  23. Signed, Picpus
  24. Inspector Cadaver
  25. Felicie
  26. Maigret gets Angry
  27. Maigret in New York
  28. Maigret’s Holiday
  29. Maigret’s Dead Man
  30. Maigret’s First Case
  31. My Friend Maigret
  32. Maigret at the Coroner’s
  33. Maigret and the Old Lady
  34. Madame Maigret’s Friend
  35. Maigret’s Memoirs
  36. Maigret’s at Picratt’s
  37. Maigret Takes a Room
  38. Maigret and the Tall Woman
  39. Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters
  40. Maigret’s Revolver
  41. Maigret and the Man on the Bench
  42. Maigret is Afraid
  43. Maigret’s Mistake
  44. Maigret Goes to School
  45. Maigret and the Dead Girl
  46. Maigret and the Minister/ Maigret and the Calame Report
  47. Maigret and the Headless Corpse
  48. Maigret Sets a Trap
  49. Maigret’s Failure
  50. Maigret Enjoys Himself
  51. Maigret Travels
  52. Maigret’s Doubts
  53. Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses
  54. Maigret’s Secret
  55. Maigret in Court
  56. Maigret and the Old People
  57. Maigret and the Lazy Burglar
  58. Maigret and the Good People of Montparnasse
  59. Maigret and the Saturday Caller
  60. Maigret and the Tramp
  61. Maigret’s Anger
  62. Maigret and the Ghost
  63. Maigret Defends Himself
  64. Maigret’s Patience
  65. Maigret and the Nahour Case
  66. Maigret’s Pickpocket
  67. Maigret Hesitates
  68. Maigret in Vichy
  69. Maigret’s Childhood Friend
  70. Maigret and the Killer
  71. Maigret and the Wine Merchant
  72. Maigret’s Madwoman
  73. Maigret and the Loner
  74. Maigret and the Informer
  75. Maigret and Monsieur Charles

Just 67 books to go! Time to order some more books.

Please drop me message if you have read any Maigret books.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

October 2021 Wrap Up

Well another month is over and I find myself looking forward to Christmas books but I must resist till December 1st.

October was a really good month for reading. I read 9 books in total which is the best so far this year.

Statistics

Books

Pages: 368

Format Read: Hardback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review

Pages: 134

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲

Review

Pages: 413

Format Read: Hardback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review

Pages: 128

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review

Pages: 336

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review to follow

Pages: 288

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review to follow

Pages: 32

Format Read: Hardback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲🐲

Pages: 76

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review to follow

Pages: 150

Format Read: Paperback

Dragon Rating: 🐲🐲🐲🐲

Review to follow

Goodreads Challenge: 55/70

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

So I thought it was time for an update of what I have been up to recently.

Birthday

Last week was my birthday and although I was teaching all day I did still have a lovely day. My husband cooked dinner and made me a few cocktails and then I had some presents to open. The following day I went out for a meal and also had one or two cocktails.

Hay on Wye

We went for a little holiday this week as it was half term and we chose Hay on Wye. I will be honest I was in my element and bought so many books. I also played a lot of Pokemon Go and completed loads of tasks that had been sat waiting for what seems like forever. I came home with three canvas bags full of books. Half of one of the bags were books that my husband had chosen but the rest were mine. It was so nice to get away for a break and just relax. The picture of the book stack contains the books bought from the first day. My favourite bookshop was Richard Booth.

Latin Lessons

I’m also half way through my first term of Latin lessons with City Lit. I’m really enjoying the translation tasks and although I’m finding it tricky I am slowly starting to get the hang of it.

The rest of the time has been the usual suspects of work and instrument practice and of course reading.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

WWW Wednesday: 27/10/2021

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you will read next?

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have been really getting back into my reading this week and I have finally been catching up on my Goodreads Challenge.

What I am Currently Reading

I’m still chipping away at this and although I am really enjoying it and I love Beard’s writing I do have to read in short stints as there is a lot of information to absorb.

What I have Recently Finished Reading

This is my first Brian McGilloway novel and I enjoyed it so much I have bought the next two in the Ben Devlin series. Stefan Zweig was also another new author for me and one that I will happily read more of.

What I Think I will Read Next

My next book could be one of these but I also went on a little adventure at the beginning of the week and I purchased a lot of new books. I will tell you all about my adventures tomorrow.

Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

The Weekly Brief

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Blogging has gone slightly better this week thankfully.

Here is what has been happening on the blog.

Posts this Week

Currently Reading

This is the first book I have read by Brian McGilloway and so far I am absolutely loving it.

Books Acquired

I had all these lovely books for my birthday and I can’t wait to get reading them all.

Happy Reading

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you