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Showing posts from March, 2019

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins

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Why? Basically because my mum handed it to me and said "It's written by the same woman who did "the Girl on the Train" but it is much better,  Much." What? Otherwise known as amazon spiel: Just days before her sister plunged to her death, Jules ignored her call. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules must return to her sister's house to care for her daughter, and to face the mystery of Nel's death. But Jules is afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of this small town that is drowning in secrecy . . .  And of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. Into The Water Amazon Rusty words *** "The river can go back over the past and bring it all up and spit it out on the banks in full view of everyone, but people can't.  Women can't." This is a book that requires reflection.  It was not difficult to read but difficult to articulate or even understand how much I really liked it.  T

The yellow van

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I promised pictures and here it is!  The beautiful yellow van that appears outside our house every Sunday and also a picture of our stupid cat who gets on as well.  Let me know if you have the pleasure of mobile library vans where you live.   If you're a Leeds resident, then  the mobile library stops are available online at: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/where-i-live .   If you put in a postcode and select "mobile library stops for community" from the dropdown menu, it will show you where the nearby stops are and what day/time. 

Mud By Emily Thomas

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Why? I was drawn to it in the yellow van as it is shortlisted in the  Leeds Book Awards .  It is in the 11-14 categories and I'm a bit (well considerably) older than that but decided I should give it a go anyway. What? Otherwise known as amazon spiel: It's 1979, and thirteen-year-old Lydia has no idea how she'll cope when her dad announces that the family has to sell up and move onto a Thames sailing barge in Essex. With his girlfriend. And her three kids. Between trying to keep her clothes dry in a leaky cabin, disastrous hair-dye attempts, awkward encounters with local boys, and coping with her suddenly enormous and troublesome family, Lydia fears she'll sink rather than swim . . . At turns heartbreaking and uplifting, through Lydia's innocent and perceptive voice we find out that while the mud may stick, the tide can turn - and in unexpected and joyful ways. Perfect for fans of Louise Rennison, Hilary McKay and Rae Earl Amazon UK Mud Rusty

A Library at work?

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Last year I was involved with the redesign of our offices to make them more google-esque.  Well in reality it was to make more people fit in less space.  This makes people panic; we are a territorial species.  We like sitting in our desk (seriously, I don't care if you've broken health and safety rules and put a coat on the back of the seat, move now).  But this move to agile working (which is the very opposite to agile delivery teams) is happening increasingly.  Before you decide to hate it, give me a shout because I think I love it.  Of course, it is not just about pods and project spaces and non-bookable meeting rooms, it is about using space to invest in your employees.  We did this via a games room and also via my favourite space - THE LIBRARY!  It is a quiet space; no talking and definitely no phones.  It has a sofa, it has desks with chairs, it has a high backed comfy chair.  It has lots of bookshelves.  Full of books.  All donated by employees.  We drop off books we ha

Villa America by Liza Klaussmann

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Why? I follow a book club on facebook called BOOKWORMS: Leeds Book Club.  It's a private group and I've only recently joined but it is a way of finding new books.  Their book for Feb was "Tigers in Red Weather" but my desire to read that was complicated by my new level of budgeting.  I spent too much money in January so current rules are it either has to be less than £3 on kindle (it wasn't) or I need to be able to get it from the library.  I LOVE THE LIBRARY!  So many reasons but primarily that they park outside my house on a Sunday in a yellow van.  It's ace.  I will take pictures to prove it is true.  Additionally, Leeds Libraries has a brilliant android app (search on Leeds Libraries) which allows you to search and reserve books.  I am currently testing to see if I can pick up reservations from the brilliant mobile library (yellow van) but will let you know.  Anyway (for a woman of few words I am using too many), "Tigers in Red Weather" was av

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough, or a book long enough to suit me"

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The words of C S Lewis and so true.  I love reading and write very succinct reviews in my bullet journal just to remind me if I loved the book and will be returning to its magic, if it will be lost in the echoes of my mind or if I just stopped (I do not believe I have time to waste on books that do not give me joy).  This is going to be an online version of my what, why and when with a few words to support.  I hope maybe it helps someone else find some books to read. Give me a shout (comments or   rustybooklove@gmail.com ) if you have any recommendations or book chat.  I'm a  kindle lover but currently returned to real books just because they feel good.  Below is my current pile to be consumed. We'll find out as we go on how discriminatory I am in terms of genre.......