Lightning!

Was wondering what the noise was last night - then looked out the window and the world lit up:

We're not generally big on thunderstorms but this one was practically shaking the house - luckily it didn't last long.

Break Out the Champagne!

Well, actually, the champagne was broken out a good decade or more ago, and we've been hoarding 5 pence pieces in the bottle ever since - all of which added up to an awful lot of coins:

Took a lot of effort to get them out of the bottle mind you, and some considerable time counting and bagging them up after - but we're now over £380 the richer (exceeding all predictions, which ranged from £50 to £300).  Spookily this is also more or less what it costs to buy a Methuselah of Moet & Chandon at 2013 prices!

In 2012 I Mostly Read . . .

And another year gone - 2012's reading history:

Finished:

Jim Butcher's latest Dresden Cold Days (December 2012) - all good - he's really on a roll - looking forward to the next one now!

Terry Pratchett's latest Snuff (November 2012) - Pratchett at his best, Sam Vimes + some great social commentary. Loved it!

Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus series, Fated, Cursed, Taken (November 2012) - another 'wizardy' series, some similarities to Dresden but a bit less actiony, and set in the UK - really enjoyed them anyway (as did Jim Butcher himself apparently!), and looking forward to the next one in due course.

PD James' Death Comes to Pemberley (October 2012) - a little over-worked in places, and took a bit of getting into, but picked up as it went on and not a bad read overall.

Philippa Jones' Elizabeth: Virgin Queen? (September 2012) - flirting with the Tudors again - inconclusive analysis of whether Elizabeth did more than flirt herself, and if she did what happened to the kid(s). Readable, but no startling conclusions!

Deborah Harkness: A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night (August / September 2012) - more mystical goings on - vampires, witches, daemons - another immersive mythology and great characters. Feeling repetitive here - but looking forward to the final title in the trilogy (when it's written).

Ben Aaronovitch: Rivers of London, Moon Over Soho,Whispers Underground (July / August 2012) - really enjoyed these - interesting take on 'magic', good mythology, London-setting, likeable characters. Looking forward to the next in the series (when it's written!).

Dipped into the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey (July 2012) - made it about a third of the way in, but got bored - not terribly well written - not sure I liked the whole dominant / submissive premis - and once you've read one sex scene, well . . .

Robert Rankin's The Book of Ultimate Truths (July 2012) - distinctly odd (was going cheap on Kindle), but quite enjoyed it - wouldn't rule out reading another one.

Didn't finish - Cornelia Funke's Inkspell - lost sympathy with the main character (selfish brat) and was finding it hard going - got busy with other things and entered crossword mode . . . will have to go back and finish this and its 'third' Inkdeath at some point so I can decide whether I really want them taking up room on my bookshelves!

Cornelia Funke's Inkheart (May 2012) - have had the trilogy of these sitting on my bookshelf for some time now - quite enjoyed the first one, but wasn't as caught up as I'd hoped, the 'magical' seemed to get lost in the mundane somehow.

Charles de Lint's latest batch of short stories Muse and Reverie (May 2012) - excellent stuff as always - urban fantasy with an edge of poignancy.

Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series (April - May 2012) - telepaths, vampires, werewolves and fae in the Deep South - inventive and down to earth at the same time. Enjoyed these - think there's one more in the offing to finish off the series, but as with Jim Butcher's Dresden series it's still to be written!

Jim Butcher's book of Dresden shorts - Side Jobs - which I then followed up with a re-read of Ghost Story (March 2012) -looking forward to the next one now, but don't think he's started writing yet!

The last 5 of the Nightside series by Simon R Green (March 2012) - a great 'comic-book' style read, which carries you along at a pace. Real escapism!

The last of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series -Timeless (March 2012) - nice ending to the series, with hints of things to come!

The full Quantum Gravity series by Justina Robson (February 2012) - Keeping It Real - Selling Out - Going Under - Chasing the Dragon - Down to the Bone - alternative world stuff with fairies and demons and elves - all very good.

Gail Carriger's Soulless; Changeless; Blameless; and Heartless (January 2012) - alternative Victorian reality, steampunky, adventures with werewolves and vampires - great stuff, looking forward to Timeless which is due out 1 March!

The Rain It Rainethed Every Day . . .

Well maybe not quite every day - but not far off . . . it didn't get that cold either I suppose, but would have preferred cold, dry and bright, to this:

December was worse - the Christmas period was phenomenally wet - kept looking out of the window, wondering if we were about to float away . . .

 Here's hoping for better in 2013!