My favourite reads of 2016...

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to share our favourite reads of the year

Favourite Twelve...in no particular order...

   


  


  


  






And just because out of 180 books read, it would be impossible to limit my choices to just twelve favourites so here are Twelve Honourable Mentions...in no particular order...

 


    


  


   


   

Thank you to all these incredible authors who have shared their stories with me



Jaffa and I wish you all happy reading and writing in 2017

My 6 in 6 in 2016...

The idea being that as the end of June approaches and we are then halfway through 2016, let us share the books we have read in those first 6 months. In fact let’s share 6 books in 6 categories, or simply just 6 books. Whatever you want to and the same book can obviously feature in more than one category.

Started by 

Jo at The Book Jotter



I've done this fun round up of the first six months reading for the last couple of years and it's always good to look back and reflect on the first six months worth of books that have been on my reading list.


It's really difficult to choose just six books in each category and it's no reflection on the other books I have read and enjoyed (and their authors ) if they haven't made this list.

Here are my six in six for 2016....




Six debut authors...

1. Katy Hogan ~ Out of the Darkness
2. Deborah O'Connor ~ My Husband's Son
3. S E Lynes ~ Valentina
4. Fiona Barton ~ The Widow
5. Eve Chase ~ Black Rabbit Hall
6. Kate Medina ~ Fire Damage

Six authors who are new to me...

1. Carys Bray ~ The Museum of You
2. Janet Ellis ~ The Butcher's Hook
3. Thomas Maloney ~ The Sacred Combe
4. Hilary Spiers ~ Hester and Harriet
5. C L Taylor ~ The Missing
6. Caroline James ~ Coffee, Tea,the Caribbean and Me

Six books I have enjoyed ...

1. Behind Closed Doors by B A Paris
2. The Ballroom by Anna Hope
3. In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings
4. This Must Be The Place by Maggie O'Farrell
5. The Farm at the End of the World by Sarah Vaughan
6. Valentina by S E Lynes

Six books that took me by the hand and led me into the past..

1. The Queen's Choice by Anne O'Brien
2. At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
3. Blood Rose Angel by Liza Perrat
4. Leopards of Normandy : Duke by David Churchill
5. Six Tudor Queens : Katherine of Aragon by Alison Weir
6. Versailles by Elizabeth Massie

Six Books that led me into a crime scene...

1. Little Sister by David Hewson
2. Missing Presumed by Susie Steiner
3. Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton
4. Coffin Road by Peter May
5. The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths
6. Death in Profile by Guy Fraser-Sampson

Six books that took me on extraordinary journeys around the world..

1. A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding (Japan)
2. Little Sister by David Hewson (Amsterdam)
3. Eden Gardens by Louise Brown (India)
4. The Last of Us by David Ewing ( Scotland)
5. Last Dance in Havana by Rosanna Ley (Cuba)
6. The Midnight Watch by David Dyer ( North Atlantic)

Thanks for looking and do come back in December when I will share my twelve in twelve.!!

 And my favourite books of the year...

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My A - Z of Books

It's always interesting to be set a new reading challenge and thanks to 

Portobello Book Blog

I spotted this one on Book Connectors on Facebook.

My A-Z of Books

Author you've read the most books from...



Diana Gabaldon - I've been hooked on her Outlander series since 1991. I'm eagerly awaiting book number 9 in the series.

Book 8 - Written in My Own Heart's Blood was published in 2014 and as it's usually 4 or 5 years between books , I've got a while to wait !

My original 1991 copy is falling to pieces but I love it. But just to be safe, I have multiple copies of Outlander ,including a precious,  signed 20th anniversary edition.

Best Sequel Ever...

Dragonfly in Amber - Book two in the Outlander series, after this I was well and truly hooked and began my long love affair with Jamie Fraser...

Currently Reading...


This Must Be The Place is published on the 17th May







Drink of Choice when reading...

Darjeeling tea, piping hot, milk, no sugar and usually in  cat mug. This cup and saucer is from Ikea...

E-Reader or Physical book...

I'm a bit of both. Nothing will ever take the place of the look, feel and smell of a paper book but my kindle is enormously useful when my eyes are tired and I need bigger print.

Fictional character you probably would have dated in high school

Jon Snow from Game of Thrones - he is seriously cute !

Glad you gave this book a chance...

The Scottish religious reformer John Knox,  never figured highly on my list of historical figures to learn more about, but The First Blast of the Trumpet by Marie Macpherson absolutely captured my imagination. It ripples with rich Scottish vernacular...

Hidden gem book...

The Flax Flower by Amanda Maclean - I reviewed this for the Historical Novel Society. It's an independently published book by a Scottish author, based on the old ballad Mill O Tifty's Annie. It's contents are a hidden gem...

Important moment in your reading life...

Reading my first Jean Plaidy historical novel in my early teens and realising that history didn't need to be stuffy and boring...

Just finished...

A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding

Kind of books you won't read...


I'm not a Sci Fi or Westerns reader and I'm easily bored by Erotica




Longest Book You've Read...


Voyager comes in at a  whopping 1059 pages 

Major book Hangover...

Realising just how many books.... and how many pages there are to get through in The Song Of Ice and Fire series

Number of book cases you own...

Six and desperately need more. So a major refurbishment of my study and the purchase of several Ikea 'Billy Bookcases' is planned for the summer...

One book you've read multiple times...

Jane Eyre is the one of the classics I love to re-read - I've lost count just how many times I've read it..

"Reader....I married him..." 

Preferred place to read...


It's always lovely to read in the garden on a sunny afternoon

Quote that inspires you/Gives you all the feels from a book you've read...

This says it all...

“For where all love is, the speaking is unnecessary” 

Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

Reading Regret...

That I'll never have the time to read all the books I have on my book shelves...

Series you started and need to finish...


A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin - I'm still on Book One - Game of Thrones, so it's a work in progress...

Three of your all time favourite reads..

Popular fiction comes and goes but these classics are always in my top three...

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• To Kill  Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
• Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Unapologetic fan girl for...

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Very excited for this release more than all others...


Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton is my next read on my Kindle from NetGalley  - I can't wait !!

Due to be published in June 2016

Worst Bookish Habit...

Having several books on the go at once and being impatient to move on to the next read....

X marks the spot: Start on the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book...


The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer

Your Latest Purchase...


The Day I Lost You by Fionnuala Kearney

Zzzzz snatcher Book ( Last book that kept you up way too late)


In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings

So that's it, folks, my A-Z of Books Choices


Would love to see yours, so do tag me if you do it so I can see your choices



Have fun !



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My Favourite Books of 2015...

And here they are

***Drum Roll ***

It's gets increasingly difficult every year to choose just a few books out of the many ....ahem....216 books at the last count .... that  I have read and reviewed, it's a bit like trying to pick a favourite child however, some will always linger just that little bit longer in my heart..so here they are...

Huge thanks to all the talented and gracious authors who have helped me to escape into a world beyond my own and who have taken me on the most extraordinary of adventures.

Here are my Favourite Twelve...in no particular order...

  

  

  


  

1. The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies
2. The Silent Hours by Cesca Major
3. The Sea Between Us by Emylia Hall
4. The Betrayal by Laura Elliot
5. The Edge of Dark by Pamela Hartshorne
6. The Mistake I Made by Paula Daly
7. The Secret by the Lake by Louise Douglas
8. I let You Go by Clare Mackinstosh
9. Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey
10. The Art of Baking Blind by Sara Vaughan
11. You, Me and Other People by Fionnuala Kearney
12. We Are All Made of Stars by Rowan Coleman

Here are my twelve Honourable Mentions...in no particular order...

  

  

  

  

1. Sail Upon the Land by Josa Young
2. Away from You by Kay Langdale
3. If You Go Away by Adele Parks
4. The Penny Heart by Martine Bailey
5. The Butcher Bird by S D Sykes
6. Angel Heart by Marie Laval
7. The Other Half of My Heart by Stephanie Butland
8. Naked by Eliza Redgold
9. The House of Frozen Dreams by Sere Prince Halverson
10. Solomon Creed by Simon Toyne
11. Stasi Child by David Young
12. The Loney by Andrew Hurley

Jaffa's choice

Many thanks for all your interest in Jaffareadstoo during this exciting year of books.



We hope that you'll follow our reading adventures in 2016


Merry Christmas

~***~