I am coming to you today on the 1st November to talk about a girl called October. Colour me contrary. I've also got details about a DNF (or did not finish book). How was your Halloween?

Back in 2003, the BBC launched a poll to find the nation's favourite book. I have been on a very loose mission, (and by loose mission, I mean I am probably still stuck in the airport)

The Tiger Who Came to Tea, published in 1968 and the mainstay of many a Children's section. In our store this was an 'A-Core Stock' title. It belonged to that important group of books that must be kept in quantities of 5,

A poorly tummy and shivering meant an urgent trip to the vets. The next day we discovered the cause of said poorly tummy - 3 large elastic bands. As our vet said Hattie is a terrier

When I scoured the list I couldn't find sight nor sound of The Railway Children by E. Nesbit! I was mistaken, and so my excellent first line of this post is lost forever.

If you google Christmas books, than one book consistently on any Books for Christmas list worth its salt will be Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

#12booksofchristmas has been a wee bit of a rollercoaster this year. In an ideal situation, I would love all of my books picked, typed up, pictures taken and social media posts set up.

There is a wonderful Charles Dickens' quote from A Christmas Carol which declares 'For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.'

I had one of those weekends which are good for the soul. It was our annual Wentworth visit. Each year, my 3 friends and I pay a visit to Wentworth Garden Centre to visit their Christmas shop

When in pain, read something to cheer you up! That's my advice. And what better than my favourite of the Harry Potter stories.

I seem to spend a lot of my days on this blog apologising for my tardiness in posting. Unfortunately I had a bit of a health scare this week which resulted in a visit to A&E and a lot of lifestyle changes.

Over here at CB&C Towers, we have some special visitors - my Sister, fresh from recommending SAS Rogue Heroes to us all is visiting with her 2 dogs. We are very much looking forward to catching up with her.

At the time of writing (Thursday morning), we have been promised a lot of snow to fall in our lovely part of the UK.....since Tuesday. Because this is the UK, the promise of snow promises biblical apocalypses

For those of a certain age, living in the UK in the very early 1980s, what I am about to tell you may spark a memory or two. Each summer holiday, there was a choice of 2 long-running children's TV series

Today's book is a proper children's classic. I had a yearning to read this, and also to watch the excellent 1994 movie with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon. It is of course Little Women.

This is my 3rd year of doing #12booksofchristmas and I'm please to report I am keeping up the tradition of including a Christmas Carol themed book. Not only is The Christmas Carol my favourite ever book

I was having a chat with my colleagues at work the other day and we cannot believe how quick this year is going. It doesn't feel like 2 minutes since we were looking at the spring bulbs coming out

I've mentioned before that there is a lot going on in our village. Not least the Classics Book Club. There are 9 of us who meet and each month we choose a different classic to read from a variety of genres.

If you cast your minds back you may remember that over the August Bank Holiday weekend, I was lucky enough to be invited to a book launch for a very special new release by the wonderful James Nicol.

At our last Village Classics Reading Group discussing The Iliad (did not finish, thank God I'd watched the film Troy), our talk turned to learning about the ancient Greeks and fables.

In 2007 and thereabouts it became popular for music albums to be advertised with the tagline 'An album that defines a generation'. This pithy line was often spoken by Jo Whiley in her smokiest tones

Coming in at #35 on the BBC Big Read list and the highest placed Roald Dahl title is the much loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is definitely a book of my childhood.

Coming in at #9 in the BBC Big Read is a children’s classic, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis. If, like me, you are of a certain age you will remember the BBC adaptation well.

Yorkshire, where I live, is especially known for its damp weather. At the time of writing, we are heading towards the Bank Holiday. I have some grass to rake and it is currently teeming down with rain.

It's wonderful to see bookshops open again and dare I say it, it feels like the world is opening up again. Businesses have been incredible with the way they have adapted during the Pandemic.

I do believe that my local library are convinced that I am an 8 year old child based on my reading habits lately. You have probably heard me mention (one or twice, a thousand) that I live in a small house

Coming in at #74 on the BBC Big Read list is Matilda by Roald Dahl. It has been years since I read any Roald Dahl, but as a child I could not get enough of these wonderful books.

We've made it! Last night I curled up in front of our log burner and watched The Good Life Christmas special and felt like I can take a breath and that Christmas is finally here.

There is so much about Christmas that is about memory. Memories of funny events, Christmas decorations made lovingly in Primary School and placed on the tree, games, movies, the 'Big' Christmas film, and Christmas walks.

When does Christmas start for you? Is it a particular event or when you first hear 'Last Christmas' by Wham being played on the radio? For me, I usually start planning Christmas after my Mum's birthday in September.

I am definitely something of a mood reader. Some people carefully plan out their reading and decide in advance what books they will read for the following month. My instagram feed is full of beautiful images of curated books.

I got a message 'There's this book called Harry Potter, it's definitely worth a read'. I rang the Publisher and left a long rambling message and one day a copy of the book arrived addressed to the 'mystery caller'

When I was a child, my Sister and I used to read 'The Dark is Rising' novel every Christmas without fail. This was a magical light vs dark adventure set at Christmas time and I can pinpoint where my love for Christmas books began

This is my last E-Bay Enid Blyton post for a while as shopping was becoming a bit of an addiction if I'm honest. E-Bay is fab! And no, this isn't an advert for E-Bay, just an appreciation of being re-united with much loved books

You can literally buy anything on E-Bay. A good friend of mine, each of time she would visit for tea would return home to discover her husband had bought a vehicle from E-Bay. These ranged from a classic car to a JCB.

Last week, we were Quizmaster and whilst researching questions came across a question about the Land of Magical Medicines and at the risk of going all Alan Bennett, my mind was cast back to being a 5 year old child