… because I like to do this from time to time, and the time seems right.
A is for ANTHONY TROLLOPE. I have a book and a half of the Pallisers left to read and then I plan to read some of the standalone novels, seeing how many counties I can tick off for Reading England. Any suggestions would be very welcome.
B is for BEACH. The rain has stayed away this week and we haven’t had much wind either, so with low tide in the afternoon Briar has enjoyed several good runs on the beach.
C is for CROOKED. I read ‘Crooked House’ (by Lissa Evans) and Crooked Herring (by L C Tyler) last month and I loved them both.
D is for DISTANT SUN. I’ve always loved this song.
E is for ELIZA ROBERTSON. I’ve read several from her new volume of short stories – ‘Wallflowers’ – and I am intrigued.
F is for FOUNTAIN. Rebecca West’s ‘The Fountain Overflows’ is on my Classics Club list and I have it ready to read on my bedside table.
G is for GREEN DOLPHIN STREET. One of several lovely books that I might read for Elizabeth Goudge Reading Week in April,
H is for THE HEART TO ARTEMIS. I’ve loved Bryher’s historical novels and this bookish memoir looks wonderful.
I is for ISHMAEL. Lyn’s enthusiasm for William Hootkin’s narration of Moby Dick tempted me to listen to a sample, and it sounds fabulous.
J is for JOURNAL. The man of the house have me a Persephone diary for Christmas. I’m not a diary keeper, so I’m going to use it as a book journal for the year.
K is for KNITTING. After a year of small projects (and an aran for the man of the house) 2015 is going to be about wardrode building for me.
L is for LOCKED. Nobody came to open the Morrab Gardens on Monday or Tuesday, and Briar was so disappointed that she couldn’t have one of her favourite morning walks.
M is for MARGERY SHARP DAY – 25th January 2015! What are you going to read?
N is for NATIONAL GALLERY. I’m re-reading ‘The Faithful Servants’ by Margery Sharp, Miss Quartermaine and Miss Xavier are making daily pilgrimages to the National Gallery, and I so wish I could go with them.
O is for O PIONEERS! I tidied the Virago bookcase yesterday, and I line up all of my Willa Cather novels in the right order for re-reading. ‘O Pioneers!’ is next.
P is for PROW PULLOVER. Still on the needles.
Q is for QUIXOTE. Helen has me thinking that maybe I will read ‘Don Quixote’ one of these days.
R is for THE RAVEN’S HEAD. I loved Karen Maitland’s last book and it’s lovely to know that this new one will be out on March.
S is for SARAH SMITH. Lisa has been singing her praises and so I’ve tracked down my copies of her books and I’ll start reading soon.
T is for TIDE TIMES. We can look out of the window, but I need to buy a little yellow book showing tide times and heights for the new year so that we can plan ahead for beach walks and know when the biggest high tides are coming.
U is for UNHAPPY. Lips are Unhappy by Lucky Soul is one of those songs that always works.
V is for VOGUE KNITTING. I love the mosaic knitting in the new issue.
W is for WEATHERING is Lucy Wood’s first novel, it’s published in January, and I’m already sure it will be in my box of books for 2015.
X is for EXHIBITION. I’m so pleased that there is another exhibition of rare photographs, from local archives, coming to Penlee House next month.
Y is for YOKES. I try to not buy too many knitting books, but this one was irresisitable.
Z is for ZEMINDAR by Valerie Fitzgerald. I’ve read much praise for this book and so I was delighted to find a brand new copy in the library just before the deadline for the TBR dare.
Fleur in her World 
I’m reading Crooked House at the moment and I’m hooked!
Isn’t it good?! You’d love Crooked Herring, which draws the CWA and Amazon reviewers into the plot, too.
LOVE Trollope! You ,must be already aware and tired me going ‘love Trollope’ on all your posts! 😉 I have been planning to read Rebecca West for some time…do let me know how you found her work!
Me too, and I’m sure I’ll go on saying the same thing as I work my way through his books. I’ve had mixed results with Rebecca West, but I love The Return of the Soldier and I love the opening of The Fountain Overflows.
I am almost finished with The Flowering Thorn and I’m loving it! I’d never heard of her until now and I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.
Going to read Trollope this year but probably starting with the Barsetshire series.
I’m so glad You’re enjoying The Flowering Thorn – I have it on my library pile.
The Barsetshire books do seem to be Trollope’s most loved, but I got hooked on the Pallisers and I’m going to see what else Trollope did before I embark on another series.
A lovely start to the year! Like cirtnecce, I am always happy to see Trollope listed – and happy to make recommendations 🙂 Is He Popenjoy? is an odd one but one of my favorites. It won’t help with the Reading England challenge though, since it’s set in another of his made-up counties. I love exhibits of archival photos – cataloguing them is one of the best parts of my job.
Thank you – recommendation noted!
I liked reading your list, cute. And poor Briar! That photo says it all…
We don’t have much of a garden and I’ve been taking Briar to the Morrab since she was a very small puppy, so I’m sure she thinks of it as her own. The council got their act together in the end, so she’s happy now,
Weathering sounds great (I’ve already noticed a bit of a buzz of anticipation for it).
I think it’s great, and I think that you will too,
The patterns in that book Yoke look beautiful but way beyond my skill level unfortunately
It’s a lovely book, full of essays as well as patterns. Kate’s patterns are very well written and there are guides to technique, so should you decide to try something new she’d be a great designed to go with.
I love your A to Zs. I like the sound of the Reading England challenge too – looking forward to hearing more about that.
It is interesting, looking to see where books are set, and if all goes according to plan you’ll hear plenty about it.
Almost finished my first Margery Sharp – The Nutmeg Tree – and am enjoying it so much I shall be sorry when I’ve finished. It is so good I also acquired Britannia Mews, and am awaiting arrival of Cluny Brown which, hopefully, will arrive in time for Margery Sharp Day!
Christine, I am so pleased because Margery is so under appreciated. I have yet to read Britannia Mews or Cluny Brown but I’ve read good things about both.
Cluny Brown just arrived! I’ll try to hang on to any reviews until Margery Sharp Day, though I do feel I want to enthuse about The Nutmeg Tree immediately. I will link to your blog, and thanks for the introduction to a new author.
Christine, please enthuse whenever you’re ready, because the world needs more people who love Margery to celebrate and draw attention to her work. And you still have a couple of weeks before the day to read another one ….
The Flowering Thorn was terrific. I’m sad that my library doesn’t have the Nutmeg Tree so I’ll have to buy it and I can’t wait to read Cluny Brown. Margery Sharp is wonderful!
I’m so pleased you liked it – I’m torn now between saving my copy for the perfect moment or reading it right now!
O Pioneers! is excellent… I must read more Willa Cather this year.
I’ve been saying that for years, but now I’ve re-read Alexander’s Bridge and remembered just how good she is I am eager to re-read as many of her books as I can.
A fascinating list. I caused a friend to buy a book set in the National Gallery this week – it’s called “Dogs’ Night” and is a lovely children’s book about the dogs in the paintings, who come out for a spree and runaround once a year. One year, they are not all able to get back into the correct paintings …
That sounds lovely! I used to work a couple of minutes walk from the National Gallery and I miss being able to pop in.
Yes, it’s one of the things I miss about no longer living in London (the few things!). I do get to the Portrait Awards every year at the National Portrait Gallery, at least, as that was one of my things, too.
I love this A to Z idea but not sure I would have the patience or concentration to complete it myself. Well done 🙂
I have the mindset that can’t let go of this sort of thing once I’ve started, and now that I’ve done a few I’m in the way of twisting things to fit different letters and making a mental note when I have things to fit those tricky letters.
I always enjoy your A to Z lists! And I always enjoy getting a glimpse of what Briar is up to. :o) The Yokes book…oh I have been wanting that. My local wool shop says they are bringing it in. And then the other factor is that I have to sharpen my knitting skills…ha. All in good time. Which reminds me–I am attempting to finish Sun in Scorpio to get a review uploaded on the Margery Sharp website. This is a good book to read in the dead of winter chills!
The Yokes books is wonderful, and you will love the essays as much as the patterns. I might read The Sun in Scorpio soon, it’s very tempting, but I might wait until the TBR dare is done and I can acquire a copy of Margaret Kennedy’s ‘The Forgotten Smile’ which is set in the same part of the world …