Time to read

Regular visitors will know that one thing I really like to do in my leisure time is read. Ever since I can remember I've been a book-worm. From my own book collection to reading for school classes to borrowing from libraries.

Belonging to a library was always one of the first things that I did when I moved house (which I did a lot in my student days) and I even belonged to the library in Portsmouth so that I could borrow books when I stayed with my grand-parents on holiday!

At school we were required to keep lists of the books we had read for English Literature class (in an A5 loose leafed file, with reviews and details). Now, in a similar manner, I use Goodreads. Since the acquisition by Amazon the site has integrated seamlessly with the Kindle and when you rate a book after finishing it automatically posts to Goodreads (providing you have linked the accounts); there is even a Goodreads button in the Kindle architecture now.

My books in 2015 included a lot of 'repeat business' where I found a series that I enjoyed and read as much as I could find. The Prime lending library (one book a month) helped in the early part of the year, and I decided to upgrade to the Kindle Prime subscription which lets you borrow up to ten books at a time - I've got my money's worth so far!

Nat's bookshelf: 2015b

Only Time Will Tell

by Jeffrey Archer

Fluency

by Jennifer Foehner Wells

Miramont's Ghost

by Elizabeth Hall

The First Phone Call from Heaven

by Mitch Albom

The Mermaid's Sister

by Carrie Anne Noble

My year of books 2015 included some excellent reads (and quite a lot of average ones) - I'm looking forward to what 2016 has in store!

You can see my reading challenge progress over on the sidebar of the blog, or come and join me on Goodreads!

2016 Reading Challenge

Nat has read 1 book toward her goal of 100 books.

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My Family and Other Animals

When I was around ten years old I got to the age where I would go and stay the night at friends' houses. This was when I discovered that I didn't like being away from home overnight. I didn't really overcome this fear until I went on the an exchange programme when I was fifteen (and even then I took one of my mum's cardigans to wear at bedtime!).

My constant companion, whenever I went away overnight, was Gerald Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals". The copy below isn't that copy, that was a Penguin orange and cream version, I think it is still at my Mum's house being held together by cellotape.

I read this book so many times that Gerry, Larry, Leslie, Margo, Mother, Spiro and the animals and birds were an extended family to me that I could fall asleep accompanied by in strange beds.

A family friend who spent a lot of time in Jersey used to give my brother and I membership to the children's club attached to Gerald Durrell's zoo on the island. Occasional magazines which had a pen-friend page gave me an early taste of making friends in other countries; I had pen-friends in France, Spain and Turkey. When I was about 16 we visited Jersey and went to the zoo, to see our adopted Canada Goose (amongst other birds and animals).

Reading this book so many times helped to develop my love of animals, both my pets and the wildlife in our garden and visiting wildlife reserves, zoos and more.

 

There will be a series of posts on the theme of "...other animals" introducing the animals and wildlife in my life.

Sherlock Holmes

When we found out earlier this year that the Museum of London were putting on a Sherlock Holmes exhibition in October there was never any doubt that we would be attending. Husband is an enormous fan of both books and movies, and his enthusiasm has led to me reading the books and watching the the recent films with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law and the TV adaptations 'Elementary' and 'Sherlock'.

The Museum of London always puts on excellent exhibitions, although the previous exhibitions we have attended have both been at the Museum of London Docklands.

The Museum of London itself is free; although the special exhibitions usually have an entry fee (given that we spent an hour and a half wandering through the exhibit was a bargain at £10).

The exhibit ranged over topics as diverse as the depiction of Conan Doyle's characters in TV and film to Victorian/Edwardian London (photographs, paintings and maps) to Conan Doyle himself; all of this and more put together in a fantastic (very atmospheric) setting. The exhibition did not allow photography but the accompanying book (£5 off with an exhibition ticket) has all you want and more; and the gift shop was full of tempting items, including the beautiful anthology of stories with copies of original illustrations from the magazine in which they were published.

The exhibition runs until April 2015.

Sherlock @ MoL

An album by TheMrsNatG

Sherlock Holmes Exhibition at the Museum of London

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