John Simpson - All Books Great and Small........ and Tea part 8, the final curtain on 2020.

New thread, please come along and join in, don't let me be lonely this Christmas.

New thread, please come along and join in, don't let me be lonely this Christmas.

Hello everyone, this is my Seventh year being part of this wonderful group. I am John, 57years old and married to Karen for 36 years and counting. We have two lovely children, Rob and Amy. Rob lives with his Fiancee Louise, daughter Hannah who will be 9 in February. Amy married Andy in 2015 and they now have a cat called Combie.

Please come along and leave a message and let's see what fun we have.

I love books and currently have just over 2,500 books on my shelves and this doesn't include my Cricket collection which stands at about 400 books. While reading I do enjoy the odd pot or two of tea.

CURRENTLY READING

I just love Big Books, these are my 1000+page reads so far with more to add.

1.Shogun by James Clavell, 1243 pgs
2.Gai-Jin by James Clavell, 1578 pgs
3.Noble House by James Clavell, 1435 pgs
4.War & Remembrance by Herman Wouk, 1171 pgs
5.Whirlwind by James Clavell, 1343 pgs
6.Centennial by James A. Michener 1100 pgs
7.The Covenant by James A. Michener, 1080 pgs
8.Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, 1344 pgs
9.Homeland by John Jakes, 1138 pgs
10.Russka by Edward Rutherfurd, 1007 pgs
11.A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, 1474 pgs
12.Love and War by John Jakes, 1019 pgs
13.Texas by James A. Michener, 1508 pgs
14.My Life by Bill Clinton, 1000 pgs
15.Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine, 1086 pgs
16.Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, 1059 pgs
17.The Journeyer by Gary Jennings, 1219 pgs
18.Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, 1144 pgs
19.Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton, 1235 pgs
20.Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, 1185 pgs
21.Wicked by Jilly Cooper, 1007 pgs
22.The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, 1412 pgs
23.London by Edward Rutherfurd, 1299 pgs
24.The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, 1076 pgs
25.A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, 1391 pgs
26.World Without End by Ken Follett, 1111 pgs
27.Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey, 1,015 pgs
28.The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, 1,056 pgs
29.An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, 1,065 pgs
30.New York by Edward Rutherfurd, 1017 pgs
31.Hawaii by James A.Michener, 1130 pgs
32.The Company by Robert Littell, 1281 pgs
33.The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F.Hamilton, 1225 pgs
34.Spangle by Gary Jennings, 1276 pgs
35.Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, 1024 pgs
36.Alaska by James A. Michener, 1073 pgs.
37.Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson, 1180 pgs.
38.Chesapeake by James A. Michener, 1132 pgs
39. 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster, 1070 pgs.
40. The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch, 1156 pgs.
41. The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton, 1259 pgs.
42. The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton, 1244 pgs.
43. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, 1104 pgs.
44. The Source by James A. Michener, 1032 pgs.
45. Against The Day by Thomas Pynchon, 1220 pgs.
46. The Stand by Stephen King, 1325 pgs.
47. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, 1006 pgs.
48. Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer, 1401 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

1. Chesapeake by James A. Michener, PB - 1132 pgs.
2. Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer, PB - 588 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY

3. 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster, PB - 1070 pgs.
4. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith, PB - 771 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN MARCH

5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, PB - 864 pgs.
6. The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley, PB - 543 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN APRIL

7. The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch, PB - 1,156 pgs.
8. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, PB - 668 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN MAY

9. The Barefoot Queen by Ildefonso Falcones, PB - 886 pgs.
10. The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton, PB - 1259 pgs.
11. Campaigners by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, PB - 580 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN JUNE

12. The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton, PB - 1244 pgs.
13. Dominion by C. J. Sansom, PB - 690 pgs.
14. The Dragon Riders by Christie Dickason, PB - 724 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN JULY

15. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, HB - 1104 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN AUGUST

16. An Outrageous Affair by Penny Vincenzi, PB - 870 pgs.
17. The Enemy by Lee Child, PB - 559 pgs.
18. The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk, PB - 734 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN SEPTEMBER

19. The Source by James A. Michener, PB - 1032 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN OCTOBER

20. Honeycote by Veronica Henry, PB - 535 pgs.
21. Against The Day by Thomas Pynchon, PB - 1220 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN NOVEMBER

22. The Stand by Stephen King, PB - 1325 pgs.

BOOKS READ IN DECEMBER

23. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, PB - 1006 pgs.
24. Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer, PB - 1401 pgs.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

1. Twas the Nightshift before Christmas by Adam Kay.
2. Corpse at the Crystal Palace by Carola Dunn.
3. The Road to Grantchester by James Runcie.
4. The School at the Top of the Dale by Gervase Phinn.
5. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY

6. The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan.
7. The Language of Kindness by Christie Watson.
8. One Million Lovely Letters by Jodi Ann Bickley.
9. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.
10. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham.
11. One More Day by Mitch Albom.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN MARCH

12. The Quiet Side of Passion by Alexander McCall Smith.
13. Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer by M. C. Beaton.
14. A Family Recipe by Veronica Henry.
15. George, Wham and Me by Andrew Ridgeley.
16. Agatha Raisin, Beating about the Bush by M. C. Beaton
17. Till the Cows come Home by Sara Cox.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN APRIL

18. 59 Memory Lane by Celia Anderson
19. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.
20. The Strange Disappearance of the Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan.
21. The Department of Sensitive Crimes (Inspector Varg) by Alexander McCall Smith.
22. Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb.
23. The Salt Path by Raynor Wynn.
24. The House at the end of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN MAY

25. The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester.
26. An Unsuitable Match by Joanna Trollope.
27. Long Arm of the Law by Various authors.
28. The Telephone Box Library by Racheal Lucas.
29. The Sunday Lunch Club by Juliette Lawson.
30. Murder at the Manor by Various Authors.
31. An Act of Villainy by Ashley Weaver.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN JUNE

32. The Time Keepers by Mitch Albom.
33. Pagan Spring by G. M. Malliet.
34. Out of Practice by Penny Parkes.
35. Demon Winter by G. M. Malliet.
36. A Quarter Past Dead by T. P. Fielden.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN JULY

37. The Next People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
38. The Trials and Triumphs of Grace Atherton by Anstey Harris.
39. Christmas at Nettleford by Malcolm Saville.
40. Bookworm: A Childhood Memoir of Reading by Lucy Mangan.
41. Wildflower Bay by Rachael Lucas.
42. A Scene to Die For by H. Y. Hanna.
43. Beach Wedding by Dorothy Koomson.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN AUGUST

44. Finding my Voice by Nadya Hussain.
45. Where There's a Will by Beth Corby.
46. Changing Times by Jack Sheffield.
47. The Knife's Edge by Professor Stephen Westaby.
48. The Rose Petal Summer by Katie Fforde.
49. The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna Van Praag.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN SEPTEMBER

50. The Marvelous Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson.
51. Coffin Scarcely Used by Colin Watson.
52. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint.
53. The Helpline by Katherine Collette.
54. The Beech Hut by Veronica Henry.
55. The Seafront Tea Rooms by Vanessa Greene.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN OCTOBER

56. The Two of Us, My Life with John Thaw by Sheila Hancock.
57. Bombs Fell on Aunt Dainty by Judith Kerr.
58. Small Person Far Away by Judith Kerr.
59. Rules by Jenny Colgan.
60. The Unpredictable Consequences of Love by Jill Mansell.
61. The Way to Minack by Derek Tangye.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN NOVEMBER

62. Cottage on a Cliff by Derek Tangye.
63. A Quiet Life by Derek Tangye.
64. The Newcomers by Fern Britton.
65. Angels at the Table by Debbie Macomber.
66. Crimes at Christmas by Bill Kitchen.

KAREN'S BOOKS READ IN DECEMBER

67. Wish Upon a Star by Trisha Ashley.
68. Island Christmas by Jenny Colgan.
69. Home for Christmas by Cally Taylor.
70. Weekend at Thrackley by Alan Melville.
71. Death in the Spotlight by Robin Stephens.
72. A Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley.
73. A Fresh Start by Various Authors.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN JANUARY

1. Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1958 by Norman Preston, PB.
2. Mrs Jeffries Pinches the Post by Emily Brightwell, PB.
3. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano, PB.
4. One Million Lovely Letters by Jodi Ann Bickley, HB.
5. Fifty-Fifty by James Patterson, PB.
6. The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear, PB.
7. The Burning Room by Michael Connelly, PB.
8. War Storm by Victoria Aveyard, PB.
9. Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert, PB.
10. Murder by Matchlight by E. C. R. Lorac, PB.
11. Yorkshire County Cricket Yearbook 2019, HB.
12. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder by Shamini Flint, PB.
13. An Island Christmas by Jenny Colgan, PB.
14. Crime at Christmas by C.H.B. Kitchin, PB.
15. The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan, HB.
16. Jack Hobbs by Ronald Mason, HB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN FEBRUARY

17. The Helpline by Katharine Collette, PB.
18. Nay Umpire by Jim Appleby, PB.
19. A Cotswold Casebook by Rebecca Tope, PB.
20. The Company of the Dead by David J. Kowalski, PB.
21. The Newcomer by Fern Britton, PB.
22. The Holocaust by Martin Gilbert, PB.
23. Kingdom by Robyn Young, PB.
24. A Family Recipe by Veronica Henry, PB.
25. Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman, PB.
26. The Troutbeck Testimony by Rebecca Tope, PB.
27. The Bowness Bequest by Rebecca Tope, PB.
28. The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford, PB.
29. The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag, PB.
30. The Dress Shop of Dreams by Menna Van Praag, PB.
31. Essex Poison by Ian Sansom, PB.
32. The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman, PB.
33. True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop by Annie Darling, PB.
34. The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali, PB.
35. A Dirty Death by Rebecca Tope, PB.
36. Death of a Friend by Rebecca Tope, PB.
37. Bridge of Souls by Fiona McIntosh, PB.
38. The Telephone Box Library by Racheal Lucas, PB.
39. A Rose Petal Summer by Katie Fforde, PB.
40. Snowed in at The Practice by Penny Parkes, PB.
41. Where there's a Will by Beth Corby, PB.
42. The Body on the Train by Frances Brody, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN MARCH

43. Dead Ringer by M. C. Beaton, PB.
44. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, PB.
45. A Nice Cup of Tea by Celia Imrie, PB.
46. The Lost Art of Letter Writing by Menna Van Praag, PB.
47. Out of Practice by Penny Parkes, PB.
48. Practice Makes Perfect by Penny Parkes, PB.
49. Best Practice by Penny Parkes, PB.
50. Wham! George & Me by Andrew Ridgeley, HB.
51. Died and Gone to Devon by TP Fielden, PB.
52. Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani, PB.
53. Asking for the Moon by Reginald Hill, PB.
54. The War of the Flowers by Tad Williams, PB.
55. Precious Gifts by Danielle Steel, PB.
56. Skeleton Man by Tony Hillerman, PB.
57. The Knife's Edge by Professor Stephen Westaby, PB.
58. Till the Cows Come Home by Sara Cox, PB.
59. Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly, PB. Freebie from neighbour
60. Espedair Street by Iain Banks, PB. Freebie from neighbour.
61. Hold Tight by Harlen Coben, HB. Freebie from neighbour.
62. Promise Me by Harlen Coben, HB. Freebie from neighbour.
63. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, PB. From Karen's book club.
64. Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb, PB. From Karen's book club.
65. The Department of Sensitive Crimes by Alexander McCall Smith, PB.
66. The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN APRIL

67. Changing Times by Jack Sheffield, PB.
68. Bad Day at the Vulture Club by Vaseem Khan, PB.
69. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2020, Ed by Lawrence Booth, HB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN MAY

70. A Dangerous Engagement by Ashley Weaver, PB.
71. Date With Danger by Julia Chapman, PB.
72. Revenge by James Patterson, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN JUNE

73. Playfair Cricket Annual 2020 Ed by Ian Marshall, PB.
74. Bookworm by Lucy Mangan, PB.
75. Death of an Honest Man by M. C. Beaton, PB.
76. The Second Worst Restaurant in France by Alexander McCall Smith, HB.
77. Wildflower Bay by Rachael Lucas, PB.
78. The High Flyer by Susan Howatch, PB.
79. No Mercy by Martina Cole, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN JULY

80. Reckless by Andrew Gross, PB.
81. Nothing to Lose by Lee Child, PB.
82. The Enemy by Lee Child, PB.
83. The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew by Milly Johnson, PB. A gift to Karen from one of her bookclub members.
84. My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith, PB.
85. Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani, PB.
86. The Walking Dead by Gerald Seymour, PB.
87. Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yearbook 1937 Ed by J. H. Nash, HB.
88. A Quiet Year by Derek Tangye, PB.
89. Cottage on a Cliff by Derek Tangye, PB.
90. The Way to Minack by Derek Tangye, PB.
91. The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani, PB.
92. Crisis in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope, PB.
93. Waterland by Graham Swift, PB.
94. Successor's Promise by Trudi Canavan, PB.
95. Coming up Roses by Racheal Lucas, PB.
96. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, PB.
97. Letter's from Lighthouse Cottage by Ali McNamara, PB.
98. Finding my Voice by Nadia Hussain, PB.
99. Coffin Scarcely Used by Colin Watson, PB.
100. Bump in the Night by Colin Watson, PB.
101. Hopjoy was Here by Colin Watson, PB.
102. Night Frost by R. D. Wingfield, PB.
103. Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult, PB.
104. No One Listened by Isobel and Alex Kerr, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN AUGUST

105. Fly Away by Kristin Hannah, PB.
106. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo, PB.
107. Black Roses by Jane Thynne, PB.
108. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, PB.
109. Anyone for Cricket? A Diary of an Australian Tour by Bob Taylor and David Gower, HB.
110. Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN SEPTEMBER

111. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Bali Conspiracy Most Foul by Shamini Flint, PB.
112. Inspector Singh Investigates: The Singapore School of Villainy by Shamini Flint, PB.
113. Island on the Edge of the World by Deborah Rodriguez, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN OCTOBER

114. 19th Christmas by James Patterson, PB.
115. The Great Romantic by Duncan Hamilton, PB.
116. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, PB.
117. The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich, PB.
118. Under Gemini by Rosamunde Pilcher, PB.
119. Secrets in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope, PB.
120. Weekend at Thrackley by Alan Melville, PB.
121. Texas Ranger by James Patterson, PB.
122. Death in the Spotlight by Robin Stevens, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN NOVEMBER

123. Tales Out of School by Gervase Phinn, PB.
124. Silent Night by Danielle Steel, PB.
125. Blessing in Disguise by Danielle Steel, PB.
126. Turning Point by Danielle Steel,PB.
127. The Girl from Barefoot House by Maureen Lee, PB.
128. I've Got My Eyes On You by Mary Higgins Clark, PB.
129. A Christmas Invitation by Trisha Ashley, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN DECEMBER

130. House Swap by Rebecca Fleet, PB.
131. A Fresh Start by Various Authors, PB.
132. A Surprise for Christmas Ed by Martin Edwards, PB.
133. Cottage of Curiosities by Celia Anderson, PB.
134. Blindside by James Patterson, PB.
135. Lost by James Patterson, PB.

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-11-2020 - 2670
Books added in November - 7
Books read in November - 1

Revised book total - 2676

Pages to read at 1-11-2020 - 1,104,269
Pages added in November - 2,623
Pages read in November - 1,325

Revised total pages to read - 1,105,567

NOVEMBER'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 1

No of Authors.................... 1

New Authors...................... 1

Male Authors..................... 1

Female Authors.................. 0

Pages Read....................... 1,325

Daily Avg........................... 44.17

Book Length avg................. 1325

Thread is now open.

Happy new one, John! You have done amazing reading this year!

Hi, John! Oooh, I love Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell! I hope you do, too!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, John.

I like seeing Karen's books as well. Now can you get her to rate them?

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, John!

I won't let you be lonely, not even with Christmas. I will try to remember to leave a note that day ;-)

Happy new thread, John! I love your stats and Karen's books too.

Congrats on reading The Stand. I love it and have read it twice.

>32 jessibud2:, Hi Shelley my dear, the reading is pretty good but i had hoped to get to 35 books for the year but i am pleased about how many 1,000+ page books i have read so far.

>33 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, i am enjoying Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell so far, i am just over halfway through and hope to finish it by the end of next Monday.

>34 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, i am glad that you are enjoying Karen's reads, she has done pretty well to say that most of her reading is done when we go to bed. I will ask her to rate her reads next year.

>35 ChelleBearss:, >36 quondame:, Thanks for stopping by Chelle and Susan.

>37 FAMeulstee:, Hi Anita my dear, thank you for making sure that i am not lonely this Christmas, i added that bit as i always liked this Christmas single by Mud at Christmas 1974.

>38 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, i am glad that you like my stats and the list of Karen's reads. I really did enjoy The Stand especially the full version. To be honest i didn't realise that there was a shorter version and obviously it suited my run of 1,000+ page reads i have been doing. It is currently the longest book of the year but i have one longer to read and it will probably be my last book of the year.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, John. Love and best wishes to you and Karen.

Happy new thread, John!

>45 drneutron:, Thanks Jim.

>46 PaulCranswick:, Thanks Paul.

>47 DianaNL:, Thanks Diana my dear.

>41 johnsimpson: Very good John! I am really enjoying your books versus Karen's books.

>49 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, it will be interesting to see how she rates her reads.

Happy new thread!

It has been a steady week but the weather has been miserable. On Wednesday we decided to put the tree up minus lights and baubles to see how Felix reacted, he has had a good sniff around but has not climbed it yet. Tomorrow we will put the lights on the tree and see what he does and then the baubles will go on the tree on Sunday. Once the tree was put up in a new position for this year we put up a few other small items and he is more perplexed about them than the tree. Today he attacked the Elf and its clothes, twice.

On Thursday we pottered about during the morning and Karen baked some ginger Christmas shaped biscuits and a tray baked cake before Debbie the nail technician arrived to do her nails. I did some reading whilst Karen had her nails done.

Today has been good, i had a busy morning. After dropping Karen at work i re-parked up nearer to the store entrance and then went into the store to do the little bit of shopping required. When we awoke we had light drizzle but by the time i had done the shopping we had quite heavy sleet. After putting the shopping in the car i made my way home instead of going into Wakefield, primarily because i had the wrong coat on for the weather. Once home i got the two bags of shopping out of the car and into the house and then changed coats before heading into Wakefield to do the banking.

Once the banking was done i then went to Boots the Chemist to pick up a bottle of surgical spirit and then had a mosey up the precinct and went into Waterstones book shop. I came out empty handed and made my way into the Ridings shopping centre and went into TK Maxx to look for a decent diary. I wanted a day to a page diary but they had nothing but i did look down the kitchen aisle and picked up a pack of three different sized whisks as our whisk has broken. I left TK Maxx and had a quick look around the antique centre before making my way back to the car and heading home via the Post Office in the next village to us.

Once done in the Post office i made my way home and unpacked the shopping before making myself a nice pot of tea. The next couple of hours were spent drinking tea and doing a bit of reading before i got on with the downstairs housework. Once this was done i made myself some lunch and a pot of tea before reading for 30 minutes until it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and going to pick her up from work.

After dropping Karen at home i made my way to the doctors to attend my appointment with the practice nurse to remove my stitches. I only had six stitches but three have come loose and disappeared and so she only had the three tight ones to snip away. Once this was done i made my way home and we had a pot of coffee before making ourselves something to eat.

Now that i am back driving again i will be heading to Meadowhall Shopping Centre on Monday morning after dropping Karen at work and then collecting Felix's flea and worm treatment, so that i can do my Christmas shopping for Karen. I know where i need to go for presents and i have some Rituals Shaving Cream to pick up that Karen ordered for me. This is the best shaving cream i have ever used and so glad we picked up a small tube of it when we visited the Forum Shopping Centre in Funchal when we holidayed in Madeira last year.

Whilst i am in shopping mode on Monday i need to find a nice day to a page diary that is suitable for a Fountain Pen, Paperchase will be the place to find this i think. I am hoping to be done and dusted in a couple of hours unless i get waylaid in Waterstones book store, lol.

>53 johnsimpson: I predict you'll be gone longer than a couple hours. I can't imagine your not being waylaid in Waterstones. ;-)

Hi, John! I have finally made it to your thread. : )

So glad the surgery went well and now you have the stitches out. Hope it heals well and quickly. Good luck shoppoing on Monday. ; )

Love all your lists up top, including Karen's books. Nice!

>52 johnsimpson: How on earth did you come out of Waterstones empty handed - three whisks and no books is as close to sacrilege as can be mustered on a sleeting Yorkshire afternoon in December.

Have a great weekend.

>54 thornton37814:, Hi Lori, more than likely my dear but i can just kid myself it'll only be two hours, lol.

>55 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, nice to see you now that you are back with a new computer. The hand is healing nicely and so i will do the exercises over the next three to four weeks and everything should be as good as new.

I am looking forward to the shopping but the priority is getting Karen's presents and i want to pick up a couple of things.

I am glad that you like my lists and showing Karen's reads, she has not done too bad considering she mainly reads when we go up to bed, if she had the time that i have she would probably do 2 X 75. Next year i have asked her if she will rate her reads as Ella asked if she would do this and she has said yes, so there will be a little addition to her reading list.

Next year i am back to the standard length books so will definitely hit 75 but the target will be 108 as 107 books read has being my best reading year.

Sending love and hugs to you all dear friend.

Hi Paul, i know it was sacrilege to come away empty handed but they didn't have what i was looking for and the buy one get one half price selection was a bit shabby. Rest assured mate that i won't be empty handed when i come away from Waterstones Meadowhall on Monday.

Hope you are having a good weekend mate.

It has been a pretty good day today. We awoke with the alarm and i went and made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed, once finished we got up, washed and dressed before coming downstairs to get things sorted.

Karen set a load of washing going and then got Felix's dishes sorted out and made sure he was fed. When i got downstairs i got our meds and vitamins out and made us both a coffee and Karen got our breakfast sorted out.

Once breakfast was done with i went out on an errand, i popped into Wakefield briefly but came away empty handed apart from the usual Newspapers and then went onto a friends house to drop off some Cat food for Henry's Haven Cat Rescue and to pay her £2 and in return i was given a Baby Memories book and a Bandana for Felix.

Once home i popped Margaret's paper through her door and then made us a pot of tea, we watched a cookery programme and then i made us another drink and Karen had a bite to eat. Not long after i took Karen to work and made my way back home as the BT Tech engineer was due just after 2pm.

The BT engineer appeared just before 2.15pm and set up my new Halo 2 hub and two extra dish hubs to give us better web speed around the house. We were chatting and he asked about our Mobile phones deal, a short time later i had saved us £26 a month for the same deal. Once everything was set up and i had set up the new codes on the laptop and my phone and all was good, the engineer left and i was a happy bunny.

After i put everything back where it should be and part emptied my water butt it was time for a pot of tea and to watch Final Score and have a flick through my paper.

After another pot of tea or two i had my homemade Curry for tea followed by some cake and Christmas biscuits before firing the laptop to come on here.

I am towards the end of my Christmas baking. I baked the last of my Christmas Gingerbread cakes today. I found a Christmas Tree cake mold on sale last year after Christmas and after a month I simply couldn't resist the temptation any longer, so I purchased it. I decided that it was perfect for a gingerbread cake and rum glaze recipe that I have. This was my present to friends and neighbors this Christmas. It tastes amazing with coffee or tea.

I am also making a yeast bread dinner roll that uses molasses (black treacle) instead of refined sugar and I add a bit of milled flax seed to the recipe. I usually make this recipe at night and leave the dough to a long slow cold rise overnight, then bake the rolls. I will make the last two recipes of them tonight and tomorrow. Then I am done with the Christmas baking.

I will be leaving for Kansas and Christmas celebrations on Thursday. I am leaving early and returning early. My return will be in late December so that I can do either a 14 day or 10 day quarantine before the new semester starts. The University hasn't said that it is going to require a quarantine if we traveled out-of-state, but I have the time built in if they do so.

We finally had a hard freeze a week ago, so all of my plants are now limp rags and since I don't decorate for Christmas the place looks like the temporary abode of a transient person. I think of it as resting for the spring.

I am working this weekend so have to sit in front of this computer at home for 4 hours on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. I will be doing some reading and be drinking plenty of coffee because at this time of year there are few questions that come in.

I can't believe that you went to Waterston's and came out without a book! Didn't you at least come out with a wishlist?

I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I loved all the footnotes.

>58 johnsimpson: Nice John! It will be interesting to see how Karen rates her books.

Christmas biscuits sounds really good!

Today is Saint Nicolas day here in Holland, presents gifts and candy for children. We came home late from the allotment and found a present in front of the apartment door: a package of cookies. A really nice surprise, probably from the next door neighbour, we share the same staircase. First time he has done that. I said how nice of him, and I had wanted to buy something for him. Now that people have so much less opportunity to celebrate because of Covid. We made some coffee and tasted the cookies. They were awful. It said on the packaging that they contained nothing, that is nothing anyone could be allergic to. No gluten, no wheat, no butter, no eggs, a whole list. And the result was awful, I am going to throw them out. Had to laugh about it, he probably received them as a gift at his work;-) and passed them on. Shall I thank him anyway, thought that counts?

Have a nice Sunday, John. Give my love to Karen as well.

Hi John!

>60 johnsimpson: Better wifi and saving £26 a month for the same deal – I’d be a happy bunny, too.

Finished book 23 earlier today, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, PB - 1006 pages. A very interesting read and this has been on my shelves for many years, i never watched the BBC adaptation of this book and i am glad that i didn't.

I was slightly behind on finishing my last book but i should still have time to finish my last Chunkster of 2020, Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer, 1401 pages. I must say that i have been busy over the last few days, on Monday after dropping Karen at work and then picking up Felix's Flea and Worm treatment, i made my way down to Meadowhall Shopping Centre. I had to pick up my Shaving Cream refill that Karen had ordered for me from Rituals and then i got on with getting Karen's Christmas presents and a couple of small things for me. I must say that i did well and picked up a couple of bargains.

Tuesday i was busy again and had housework to do and yesterday we did the shopping at Aldi and then in the afternoon i went and picked up Hannah from school.

Karen is off work now until Monday as she put a couple of days holiday in, today i took Karen to he hair appointment and then on my way back home i went via the Post Office to pay this month's Council Tax and post a parcel for Karen. Once home i began to put up some lights around the Garage but the cable snapped in the Garage mechanism. I should have told Karen that i would do it when she had had her hair doe as it would be easier.

After picking Karen up from the hairdressers, we went to the DIY store so that i could pick up a cable connector and once home we had a coffee and then Karen helped me get the lights put up around the garage, they look quite nice but next year we will go a little bigger.

Tomorrow we are going down to Meadowhall so that we can have a good look around, sadly one of our big departments stores is closing down unless a last minute rescue deal can be done, in the meantime all products have been reduced some by up to 70%. I am hoping that i might pick up a bargain on Jeans or a nice Jacket.

Just dropping in to say hello.

Sorry to hear about the department store closing. It's always a pain when your go to store closes or changes ownership.

>66 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, it has not been a good year for store closures, some because of Covid and some a combination of Covid and poor management. Last week Sir Philip Green's Arcadia group which comprised Burton's, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Topshop/Topman went into administration with a loss of 13,000 jobs and then came Debenhams going into administration, they had a few Arcadia concessions within their stores and this added another 12,000 job losses and then two days later Bonmarche went into administration with another 1,500 jobs to go.

It is amazing how many people have visited Debenhams since the announcement was made, all hoping to pick up great bargains. We have a Debenhams in Wakefield and Karen went in whilst shopping in town and said the stock was not reduced but there was nothing she wanted. The Debenhams in Meadowhall is huge and i could do with a couple of pair of Jeans so i might get lucky. When i visited Meadowhall on Monday, it was the first time i have been there since the January sales and then we went into lockdown.

Hi, John, just stopping in to say Congratulations on meeting your BFB goal! Well done!

I think I cam get one mor in: Agatha Christie’s autobiography. As you may imagine it’s 500-plus pages of extremely easy reading.

>68 Matke:, Hi Gail my dear, thank you for your message, i am sure you will get the autobiography finished and i wouldn't say it was an easy read. I made a start on Harlot's Ghost last night and i think it will be finished before midnight on the 31st December, even if i read right up to the wire, lol.

It has been a lovely day for both of us, we began the day with a pot of tea in bed before getting out of bed and getting washed, dressed and then coming downstairs to get everything sorted out.

Karen set a load of washing going before sorting Felix out whilst i made our coffee and then got our meds and vitamins out. Karen got the cereal out and we were all sorted for breakfast.

After breakfast i went and got the papers while Karen got all the baubles and decorations out on the coffee table ready to start decorating the tree. Apart from a couple of breaks for a coffee, we got on with the tree and by 2.45pm it was all done. Once the tree was done i vacuumed the living room, dining room and kitchen. It is surprising where bits of tree and glitter get.

Felix had a good sniff around the base of the tree and the baubles at the bottom, he looked a bit bemused but has left the tree alone for now. Once all the work was done we had a pot of tea and i watched the Final Score programme. After another pot of tea we had something to eat before watching Strictly Come Dancing - The Semi Final. Once Strictly had finished we put the radio on to listen to the end of the Rock Show.

I'm looking forward to a photo of Felix in the Christmas tree. One of my favorite cat pics is of Sherlock in the tree when he was a kitten.

>71 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, apart from flicking the bottom baubles, he hasn't shown much interest in the tree from a climbing point of view.

John you have read some large tomes this year. Those large ones intimidate me. Growing up we had cats and I never remember them playing with, in or around the tree. I have seen some that do get adventurous when the tree is up and decorated. Hope he continues to just flick the bottom baubles.

>73 crazy4reading: When my oldest nephew was crawling (about 7.5 months), I had a little ginger cat. He and that cat played with each other, and they both loved crawling under the Christmas tree. I probably have a photo of it somewhere. I know we had one. I should have it. Not sure if it is scanned or not.

>73 crazy4reading:, Hi Monica my dear, i thought i would have a bash at the seriously large books this year and when and if i finish my latest book it will be my 11th 1,000+ page book of the year.

Felix has still left the tree alone so far and when the presents go under tomorrow, i think he will ignore the tree.

>74 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, i can picture the image of your nephew and the cat playing under the tree.

I have been busy over the last few days, on Monday i dropped Karen at work and then went into the store and did a big shop. I picked up the stuffing balls, Chipolatas and bacon to wrap around the chipolatas along with some lager, cider and some wine. Along with all the Christmas bits i picked up the usual essentials.

Once i had done the shopping i made my way home and unpacked and put it all away before having a welcome pot of tea. Once i had finished my pot of tea i got on with some more jobs, first on the list was to put the dimmer switch on and then with the batteries i had bought i replaced all the dead batteries in the light decorations scattered about the house. When all this was done it was time for another pot of tea and a little bit of reading.

After watching the news i set up the DVD recorder up to record three programmes and then i put some air in my tyres before setting off on my next couple of jobs. First stop was Tanya's to drop off some biscuits for them and after a chat with Tanya i made my way to the cemetery in Sharlston to put a wreath on mum and dad's grave. I had a chat with them and then made my way home.

By the time i got home i had a nagging headache and took some paracetemols and had a pot of tea. Before long it was time to pick Karen up from work so i made her a pot of tea in the travel mug and went to get her.

We had a steady night after we had eaten and were both ready for bed.

On Tuesday morning i took Karen to work and then had to pop into store to pick up some sparkling wine which i had forgotten on Monday and also picked up a slow cooker for Rob. It was better to do the shopping this week as it is double discount for staff this week. Once the shopping was done i made my way home and had a pot of tea before setting off out with Christmas cards for local friends. I had a chat with a couple of friends and got back after about 70 minutes.

Once back i had another pot of tea before delivering the cards for friends around our estate and also put a bauble on the memory tree that Working for Walton put up again. once back home after a nice walk around the estate i had a pot of coffee before doing the bathroom cleaning. Once my work was done i made a pot of tea and read until it was time to go and pick Karen up from work, i took her a pot of tea in the travel mug.

Again we had a steady evening after we had eaten.

Today has been a miserable day with rain, we awoke and had a pot of tea in bed before getting up, washed and dressed. Once downstairs Karen sorted Felix out and then we set off to the Aldi in Featherstone to do the usual weekly shopping. I stayed in the car while Karen did the shopping and once she was done and the shopping in the car, we made our way home.

Once home we unpacked and put the shopping away before i got our meds and vitamins out and made us a pot of coffee, Karen got our breakfast ready and we had a late breakfast. After we had our breakfast we watched the daily politics show before having another drink. A short while later i set off to drop off our prescriptions and post a couple of items and then made my way to pick Hannah up from school.

Once i had got Hannah, we made our way home and she could see all our decorations, Hannah had some milk and then went upstairs to chill while we had a pot of tea and watched a bit of television.

Later we all had something to eat before Hannah had a bath and then after she had had some milk and biscuits, i took her home.

Yesterday we switched sim cards in our phones and began a new phase on the BT network after many years on O2. Everything seems to have gone OK with the switch over and the signal we get in the house is a lot better, we still have our same numbers so that was a bonus.

Hi John!

Busy man. I hope you and Karen are enjoying the holiday season and keeping Felix out of the tree.

We're not decorating at our house this year because Jenna will not be home and both of us are perfectly fine with that.

Sending love and hugs to you both and special kitty skritches for Felix.

>80 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, Karen was back at work yesterday and she only has three shifts left before she is off for five days. We have just found out that we can have three households for one day only instead of the five that Bojo had stated. This what we had been saying all along, as long as we could have everyone for Christmas Day lunch, that was fine with us.

Felix finally had a good look at the tree this morning, after playing with the two soft baubles he got a third of the way up the tree and we could see his little face staring at us, by the time Karen got her phone camera on he decided to come down.

We are already for the big day, presents under the tree, i was very pleased with my wrapping this year, and all the food is in the house.

Hope all is well with you, Bill and Jenna my dear and we send love and hugs to you all dear friend.

I have updated Karen's reading list and she has completed 71 books so far, not bad going considering she mainly reads when we go up to bed. This month obviously has been busy for her with work, shopping, baking and decorating the house ( i am not competent enough to decorate the house). Also she has been knitting a baby blanket for Amy and wants to get it finished so that she can give it to Amy on Christmas Day, just three more pieces to go before she can stitch it together.

I think she would be capable of 2 X 75 books if she had more time to devote to reading, i think when she retires in a few years she will be able to do this.

This will be my worst year for the number of books read this century but at least my pages total stacks up, next year i am definitely going to hit 100 books read for only the second time.

>82 johnsimpson: That's the spirit John. I'm going to reach 200 for the first time on LT next year too.

Happy Sunday, and Happy Holidays to you and Karen and your family.

This is an image by Gennady Spirin, one of my favorite illustrators.

Hi John!

>81 johnsimpson: I’m glad you can still meet up for Christmas Day. Even though we don’t have an official stay-at-home order in my state (I think we should), Jenna won’t be home for Christmas. Makes me sad, makes her sad, makes her dad sad, but we’re all confident that it’s the right decision.

I hope Felix’s foray up the tree was a one-off although I’d love to have seen a photo of it. Yay for the tree, the presents, the food, the anticipation.

>82 johnsimpson: A worthy goal, although the way you power through chunksters has me in awe.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen and special kitty skritches to your tree climber.

Before I am caught up with the holiday rush, I thought I would drop by and say:

I predict Felix will be back up in that tree so you'd better have your camera ready!

>83 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, i have enjoyed reading the Chunksters but will be glad to get back to more normal sized books. I do hope that you achieve your target of 200 books next year mate.

Not a good return to Old Trafford after 16 years for the Whites, although it could have been 5 - 5 or even 10 - 2 from what i have heard, 43 shots on target between the two sides.

Hope that you are having a good week, love and hugs to you all.

>84 Whisper1:, Hi Linda my dear, what a fabulous image you have posted for me, i hope that you are OK and having a good week so far. Sending love and hugs to you from both of us dear friend.

>85 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, so sorry that Jenna cannot join you on Christmas Day but as you say it is the right decision. We have both said that the initial 5 day plan was madness and it should be just the one day and now it is.

Karen has just tomorrow to work and then she is off until Monday, she is having her hair done on Wednesday morning and then it is just getting things ready for Christmas morning.

Felix has left the tree alone since his foray up the tree last week, he keeps having a good look but now the presents are around it he just sits and looks at it.

I do love my Chunksters and it has been good to get through a few really good ones but it will be nice to get back to the normal sized books again.

Sending love and hugs to you all and special Yorkshire Kitty Skritches for your fur babies dear friend.

>86 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, what a lovely card to post, thank you dear friend. Sending love and hugs.

>87 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, Felix has left the tree alone since his climbing foray but we both have our phones ready to capture him if he has another attempt. Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>90 johnsimpson: Nutmeg discovered the tree this morning and seemed to think she was outside. Oops. Now the fence around it is clasped shut.

... and here's to a better 2021!

Christmas in the Yorkshire Dales

Christmas in Madeira

Happy everything, John. Here's to good health, above all, and of course, good books.

>98 jessibud2:, Thank you Shelley my dear.

Merry Christmas to you and Karen, and all of your family John! I trust you will be making the best of it, and I am wishing a very healthy and merry year to come.

Hey John! It's Andy...we haven't spoken in a while. Just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and let you know I'm still around over here. Trying to overcome a reading slump....now at 20 books so far this year and I really, really hope I can improve on that for 2021. I'm really impressed with your totals now. Congratulations on your efforts.....talk to you soon.

Hello, from super windy Kansas! Yesterday the wind here was from the south and was clocked at 40 MPH. This morning the wind is from the north at 40 MPH. It is expected to pickup in wind speed this afternoon and gusts will hit up to 60 MPH. It isn't expected to snow here so today will be a very good baking day. I plan on making dinner rolls to eat at lunch tomorrow. There will only be my sister, mother, and me at lunch. Keeping it small so that Mom doesn't get too tired.

Hiya John, happy Christmas from use way down here in the south :)
We have a nice day forecast, so might get to swim in my sister in law's pool on the big day.

Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well. Here’s hoping 2021 is an improvement on 2020.

Just stopping by to send love and hugs!

John--Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
May 2021 bring you less need for masks, loads of peace and joy, good health and, of course, books!

Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays John!

Merry Christmas, John!

I hope you get some of those at least, John, as we all look forward to a better 2021.

Love to Karen.

Wanna help me kick 202 to the curb? 2021 group is here

>100 EllaTim:, Thanks for the greetings Ella my dear.

>101 utbw42:, Hey Andy, nice to see you here mate, like you i haven't had as good a year as i had hoped but with tackling the really big books i knew i wouldn't read that many. I will end the year with 24 books read, hopefully.

My overrall totals are pretty good and now that i have a little challenge on with James Patterson, my pages read total has an impetus. I envisage another 13.5 years to hit 1,000,000 pages read, this will make me 71 and Mr P 87.

It is so nice to see so many visitors, Benita, Megan, Rhian, Karen (Witchyrichy), Kim, Chelle, Susan, Joe ,Paul C and Jim.

We have had a good Christmas, we had the family with us on Christmas Day and Amy's bump is now showing well and Hannah was very happy. Hannah again asked Amy is she knew what they were having and she said no and they don't want to know.

We had a traditional Christmas lunch followed by a selection of puddings and desserts, only myself and Karen like a traditional Christmas pudding and for the second year, Karen made her own, it is delicious.

The kids departed by 6 pm and we had the evening to ourselves to relax and take stock of the day.

The weekend was very relaxing with differing weather, Saturday was wet and windy and Sunday was dry but cool.

Today Karen was back at work for a couple of days and was tired when i picked her up at 5 pm. I have read all day interspersed with pots of tea, i needed a good reading day to make sure i am on track to finish my last Chunkster of 2020.

Glad you had such a nice Christmas day with your family and congrats to Amy and happy Hannah. Best of luck with the final chunkster of 2020!

Sounds like you had a good time with your family. I drove home yesterday, and I've had a sinus headache most of this morning. It's easing a bit with the Tylenol and some caffeine.

>116 Berly:, Thanks Kim my dear, the Chunkster is still touch and go at the moment, it might be a big final reading day of 2020 to finish it.

>117 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, sorry to hear you have a sinus headache and hopefully the Tylenol and Caffeine is doing the trick to get rid of it dear friend.

Hi John!

I'm glad to hear that you had such a good Christmas with your family. Yay for Amy's baby bump. It'll be a nice surprise when the baby is born to know if it's a girl or boy. We didn't want to know either with Jenna and we enjoyed the suspense.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen and kitty skritches for Felix.

John & Karen

As the year turns, friendship continues

Finished book 24 with Seventeen minutes of the year remaining, Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer.

>120 karenmarie:, Hi Karen thanks for stopping by my dear.

>121 quondame:, Thank you Susan my dear.

>122 PaulCranswick:, Thank you Paul, the friendship certainly does continue mate.

Think it is time to close this last thread of 2020 down, all my December stats, 2020 stats and overall stats will be on my 2021 thread. Please pop over and join in the fun.