Bookaday December

The monthly book challenge continued though into December in two formats so as everyone gets busy at this time of year I picked the shorter one! I am guessing that the organisers think (hope) that after this we'll all be reading our new books!

1^st: Iconic first line?

So many of these but I do love "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents" from Alcott's Little Women.

2^nd:Last Read?

On the 2nd this was actually the new novel Impossible! by Michelle Magorian. This connected to several of her other books and has the theatre of the 1950s as a plot line and especially the theatre at Stratford East and Joan Littlewood which was apt after seeing one of her plays at that venue this year!

3^rd: On my Christmas list?

I'm far too naughty for this and I have just ordered the books I want myself as I can't even wait the 3 weeks until Christmas to read them. #NoSelfControl

4^th: For chilly nights?

I like books set in warm places when I am cold but for me it is the location of reading on cold days/nights that is important. Ideally it would be in front of an open fire but failing that wrapped up and all cosy in a fluffy duvet with a heated wheat bag.

5^th: Quintessentially British?

That opens a whole can of worms as to what is British but I think I'll pick the Famous Five books by Enid Blyton

6^th: Everyone should read?

That's hard as no book is going to appeal to all readers but I know I've shared The President's Hat to lots of people all of whom have enjoyed it - including a couple of non-readers.

7^th: Childhood favourite?

Oh - so many. Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, Heidi, Black Beauty,WIndsong Summer..

8^th It's a mystery?

Not my favourite genre at all but I really enjoyed Gone Girl recently.

9^th: I judged this by its cover?

Sorry - so many of the physical books I pick up are influenced by cover, I do think that I'd avoid the Harry Potter books as a new reader now as I don't like their covers.

10^th: Latest purchase?

That will be three new books from Girl's Gone By - a new Chalet School fill-in, and two new (to me) books by Phyllis Mathewman.

11^th: Christmas classic?

Reading The Night Before Christmas to my nephew has happened the past few years, but I won't see him on Christmas Eve this year.  I often re-read a few of the Christmassy Chalet School books.

12^th:Book of poems?

I don't have many just poetry books but I do have an illustrated collection of WW1 poems and several versions of Shakespeare's sonnets.

13^th: Stocking filler?

I think that the Simon's Cat books are great but as a rule I'm not a fan of stocking filler books as you tend to read them once and then donate to charity.

14^th: Read at school?

Many childhood favourites were read while I was at school, in class I remember a teacher reading Stig of the Dump but I don't recall us getting to the end!

15^th: Favourite colour cover?

What an odd question - I guess I'll turn this around and say I'm not that keen on bright pink books, but even then I'll give them a go if the content looks good!

16^th: For someone I love?

I buy my nephew books all of the time and can't say no when he asks for or even mentions a book.  I recommend lots of books to Mr Norfolkbookworm too.

17^th: Funny read?

Comedic books are funny as they are often only funny in the right context and they don't always age well, but I do always smile when I read the Duck books by Jez Alborough.

18^th: Massive tome?

I used to pick books by width when I visited the library as a child!  I think that Birds Without Wings fits here.

19^th: Travelling home - reading this?

Anything I like from my shelves as we are celebrating Christmas in our own home this year.  In general though I travel everywhere with my Kindle so I don't run short of reading material!

20^th: Set where I live?

Lots of books are set in Norfolk, but I think one of the best is Coot Club as even 70+ years after it was written you can still make the same journey as describe in it!

21^st:To be read?

Far, far, far too many but it is essay time and I am bogged down in research!

22^nd: Favourite festive scene?

The bit towards the end of 101 Dalmations in the church is very nice.

23^rd: The best present?

Unlimited time and money to spend in bookshops and no guilt for doing either!

24^th:For Father Christmas?

A travel guide to somewhere warm where he can relax for a few weeks after his busy season!

25^th:Under the tree?

Book tokens to allow a huge binge in the new year!

Bookaday November

This wonderful challenge making you think about and talk about books continued into November with the publisher Headline throwing out the challenges for the month:

1^st: Movember begins - your favourite hairy hero?

We're talking beards and moustaches here and I think that I would have to pick Mr Twit here - not a role model but a wonderful character!

2^nd:A book you can't wait to read this winter?

I have no self control and as soon as a book comes out I have to read it - the one I was waiting for most keenly was the new Conn Iggulden and it didn't disappoint.

3^rd: Your favourite fictional family?

Often is which ever book I'm reading at the time but I like the chaos of the Weasley family, although do love Little Women I think the family itself would drive me insane.

4^th: A brilliant epic read - we mean one with more than 600 pages!

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres for a one volume epic but if not The Flowers of the Field & A Flower That's Free by Sarah Harrison (not so fusssed about the 3rd volume!)

5^th: Guy Fawkes Night - pick a character you love to hate.

Achilles in Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles is a bit annoying but it is still a great book.

6^th: A book that reminds you of your schooldays?

Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth as I remember when my group of friends discovered this one and read it.

7^th: The book you wished you'd owned as a first edition?

I'd love a Shakespeare's First Folio!

8^th:Doctor Who ends tonight - best book featuring time travel?

I have three for this one: The Time Traveller's Wife, Charlotte Sometimes and Tom's Midnight Garden

9^th: A book you have to read twice to fully appreciate?

Most of Shakespeare's plays - once to just get the story and then a 2nd time using all of the notes to get the full meaning. Who knew Romeo and Juliet was such a smutty play?

10^th: Happy Birthday Neil Gaiman! Favourite fantasy novel?

Not a huge serious fantasy fan but I like most of Trudi Canavan's books and most of Garth Nix's

11^th: Remembrance Day - your favourite WW1 novel?

There's a lot of good WW1 fiction out there but I think that this is a tie between War Horse and Remembrance by Theresa Breslin.

12^th:A book on your shelf that you haven't got round to reading yet?

Shamefully there are many but the author I keep meaning to start but then never getting around to is Dickens.

13^th: A book you'd love to see on the big screen?

None of them - the book is always better than the film!

14^th: A book you loved but wouldn't want your mum to read?

She reads this blog so I'm not going to list it here! In all honesty I think I'd pass anything on to my mum just with the appropriate warnings, my parents were always open minded when it came to reading.

15^th: A book that made you hungry?

I can't remember the title but it was a travel memoir of a man and his family in Japan and it made me crave all of the food mentioned.

16^th:The best debut you've read this year?

Ishmael's Oranges  by Clare Hajaj.  It was handed to me in a pile of books to read and rate for an upcoming work promotion and I loved every word.

17^th: Your favourite mystery novel?

Not a genre a really like very much but the closest I come is Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time although the Montalbano books are on my to-be-read pile.

18^th: It's Scotland v England! Tell us your favourite sport book?

I don't mind watching some sport but reading about it isn't my favouite thing so I am going to go with Cat by Freya North - a novel set during the Tour de France.

19^th: A brilliant book with an eye-catching read cover?

I'm frantically scanning my shelf for books with red covers and all I can see are some antiquarian hardback missing their covers that have red boards... if that counts then I chose some of my Chalet School books!

20^th: Your favourite fictional pet?

Those that appear in the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce.

21^st:A book you've read that you wish had a sequel?

There's a lot of books that I finish wanting to know what happened next but none that I consciously want a sequel too.  Often they aren't as good or are written a long time afterwards and aren't as good.

22^nd: Your favourite book about a journey?

I like travel books a lot and think that perhaps Bill Bryson's books about rediscovering America win here, although Patrick Leigh Fermor is also good, and so is Robert Mcfarlane....

23^rd: An awesome autobiography by one of your heroes?

I love the diaries that Michael Palin is publishing.

24^th: A series you'd happily read all over again?

Has to be the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce.

25^th: One month to go! A book you want for Christmas?

There is a new Greek cookbook out that features some of my favourite dishes so I'd like that, however I already have dozens of Greek cookbooks so this would have to be a gift as I can't justify buying another one!

26^th: Tasty! Your favourite cookery or baking book?

Currently this is Rick Stein's India as we're experimenting with new curries.

27^th: Happy Thanksgiving - your favourite US classic?

Children's classics are the Little Women and Little House on the Prairie books and a modern classic is John William's Stoner.

28^th: A book with beautiful title typography?

H is for Hawk a truly stunning book from cover to cover.

29^th:  Happy birthday C. S. Lewis! Favourite fictional world?

Predictable for those who read these each month but has to be Tamora Peirce's Tortall!

30^th: Your favourite book featuring a wedding?

Oh dear, I must gloss over these as I don't recall many weddings in books at all...

Bookaday October

The #bookaday challenge continues in to October, with Books Are My Bag taking the reins. This is a campaign about using bookshops so that they don't all vanish and while may independents do take part in the campaign it is all embracing and about books!

1^st: Book to curl up in front of a fire with?

What ever I am currently reading as long as the weather is appropriate!

2^nd: Happy birthday Snoopy - your favourite fictional dog?

Although I've not re-read the books for a while I remember being most taken with Garth Nix's Disreputable Dog.

3^rd: A book I love from one of the Cheltenham Festival 2014 guests?

Soooo many good authors here that it is hard to pick - I think I am overdue a re-read of Alone on a Wide Wide Sea by Michael Morpurgo

4^th: One with a beautiful spine

Not just the spine but the whole package of The Invention of Hugo Cabret  was beautiful.

5^th: Favourite reference to cinema/film in a book.

Again thanks to the depiction of early cinema I think Hugo Cabret wins though today as well!

6^th: First book bought in a bookshop?

Not quite a bookshop but I remember saving my pocket money for the books advertised in the book club leaflet from school and the first one I paid for myself was either Earthstar Magic, Windsong Summer or Little House on the Prairie.

7^th: Last book bought in a bookshop?

The script of My Night With Reg after seeing the play.

8^th: Best bookshop find?

This has to be the secondhand copy of a rare Chalet School book that I found for very little money.

9^th: Favourite book about a bookshop?

84 Charing Cross Road without a doubt.

10^th: One with an orange cover?

The only one I can think of is Joshua Files:The Invisible City by M G Harris - this came in a bright orange plastic sleeve!

11^th: Bought at a BAMB party?

This was The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain at the Jarrold's party in 2013.

12^th: Favourite Bookseller recommendation?

So many after working in the book world for 16 years - most recently it was Mr Penumbra's Twenty-four Hour Bookstore.

13^th: Nostalgic reads! Changed meaning when I re-read it later in life.

I re-read all of the time but the most obvious book with different meaning has to be a children's classic. As a child I loved Black Beauty as a simple horse book during the pony book phase, but later on saw all the messages about animal cruelty, and social injustice to some extent, that Sewell was writing about. Interestingly Little Women is one book that I read very differently from a friend - I see it as a positive book but she sees it very negatively.

14^th: I adore the title of this novel.

A book title is important and I really dislike ones that make you think it is a completely different style of books. As serious books go then I love The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society but for a less serious one that makes me smile it has to be the puntastic Tequila Mockingbird.

15^th: Best home in literature

I like my home a lot but I think that any fictional house that features a library swings it for me, talk of an open fire where I can curl up with a book makes it a winner.

16^th: Most memorable adventure/journey in literature

The part of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe where they are walking in the snow towards the beavers' house and meet Father Christmas.

17^th: The nearest book to you right now

The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Sounds pretentious but I'm typing this as a break from studying!

18^th: Made me laugh in public

Not sure I've laughed out loud a lot while reading in public but certainly snorted and grinned on a train reading Stephen Fry's autobiography More Fool Me recently.

19^th: Made me cry in public

H is For Hawk  and The Love Song of Queenie Hennessey both made me cry on a train in the past few months,

20^th: Favourite bookworm in literature

The eponymous Matilda or Jo March from Little Women

21^st: One where I fell in love with the narrator

Not sure I do this a lot but I often become so immersed in a book that I think I am part of it and struggle to return to the real world or to let go of the book at the end.

22^nd: Makes me want to travel

Most books not set in Norfolk that I read! Some even make me want to time-travel too.

23^rd: Best book on diversity

Malorie Blackman's Boys Don't Cry challenged so many commonly held prejudices and is fantastic.

24^th: A hidden gem

The novels by R C Sherriff. He's well known for the play Journey's End and due the topic of this will be in the news a lot but I suggest looking for the Persephone reprints of his novels.

25^th: Most memorable food/drink moment in literature

Could have chosen any of the picnic scenes from Enid Blyton, the midnight feasts from numerous school stories or the meals at Hogwarts but for me it is the Turkish Delight scene in  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I spent years as a child both wanting to cultivate a taste for the stuff and being worried I'd turn into Edmund if I did!

26^th: Best book on time travel

Another hard one and so I pick two books The Time Traveller's Wife and Charlotte Sometimes they couldn't be more different but I re-read them both!

27^th: Favourite epigraph

I don't have a good memory for these but after looking it up on line the quote used by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird appeals greatly "Lawyers, I suppose, were children once" originally from Charles Lamb.

28^th: Has the best advice

Any book that leaves you with the message that who ever you are is fine and that you should only change because you want to and not because anyone tells you to do so.

29^th:  Most memorable fashion moment

I'm not into clothes or fashion but the scene in Harry Potter where Ron is in out of date formal robes always makes me feel very sorry for him.

30^th: Favourite experimental book

I was most taken with Marguerite Duras' nouvelle vague book L'Amant (The Lover) when we read it at A Level, I think it was the first non straightforward narrative I'd read.


31^st: Spookiest read.

I don't like scary books but Philippa Gregory's The Little House is I think the closest thing to horror I've read, but Nevil Shute's On the Beach is the most frightening book ever.

Bookaday September

I love that this challenge is continuing for at least another month, this time the questions have been posed by We Love This Book which started as a print magazine for book lovers from the team behind the trade journal The Bookseller but now exists solely on line.

As ever some of my answers went on line but here I do think about them all...

1^st: Favourite book about books and/or bookshops

Torn between 84 Charing Cross Road  and the fabulous Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society both are contenders for desert island books.

2^nd: Favourite book set in a school (Back to School)

Again two choices - stand alone novel is R F Delderfield's To Serve Them All My Days but my favourite series would be the Chalet School books by EM Brent-Dyer.

3^rd: Best Home Front novel (declaration of WW2)

Eeek so hard to chose for this one as I read a lot of wartime fiction, I think that Goodnight Mister Tom might win here.

4^th: The book you bought for the cover

I love the Persephone books and am always seduced by the look and blurb, although not all of them turn out to be as suitable for me as I'd hoped.

5^th: The book you bought despite the cover

Probably anything in my collection with the film cover as the book is always better, I really need to get a traditional version of Anne of Green Gables!

6^th: Favourite book of short stories

Collections by Katherine Mansfield or Mollie Panter-Downes win through here.

7^th: Favourite fictional monarch (Elizabeth 1^st birthday)

At the moment I'm quite taken with Henry VI as portrayed in Conn Iggulden's Wars of the Roses novels.

8^th: Favourite literary dinner party

Not a dinner party as such but the feasts described in the Redwall books by Brian Jacques always made my mouth water.

9^th: Literary crush

It changes all of the time but one of the first I can remember is Peter from Heidi - I wanted to run barefoot on the mountain and eat bread and cheese for lunch.

10^th: A book that gave you hope

I think the books written by Holocaust survivors fit the bill here, to come through such an experience and then write about it without hate gives me hope.

11^th: Best book recommended by a librarian

I can't remember if it was actually a recommendation or an anti-recommendation but I know I lread and oved This is All: The Pillowbook of Cordelia Kenn after talking about it with a librarian

12^th: Favourite Austen character (Austen Festival)

Shhh! Don't tell anyone but I've not read any of Austen's works.

13^th: Favourite Roald Dahl character (Roald Dahl Day)

Matilda - the girl who made reading cool!

14^th: Character most like you

Oh dear lord - I hope there isn't one out there, it would be a very dull book.

15^th: Favourite Agatha Christie story (Christie’s birthday)

I've only read a couple but I did enjoy And then there were none but my copy had the original title!

16^th: Favourite picture book

Diary of a Wombat is my all time favourite but for reading aloud then currently it is Chu's Day by Neil Gaiman.

17^th: Favourite literary detective/policeperson

Not a favouite genre of mine but I liked Alan Grant in Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey.

18^th: Favourite coming-of-age book

Never entirely sure what compromises a coming-of-age book but I do like Andre Aciman's Call Me By Your Name.

19^th: Favourite seafaring novel (Talk Like a Pirate Day)

Think this one has to be The Cruel Sea.

20^th: Favourite literary friendship

In fiction then I think the friendship portrayed in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants novels is great. In real life I loved reading the accounts of Vera Brittain's friendship with Winifred Holtby.

21^st: A book to turn someone into a reader (International Literacy Day)

This is a very personal thing and you need to know about a person before you can do this well but I know that Journey to the River Sea and The President's Hat have gone down well when I've shared them.

22^nd: Best book recommended by a bookseller (Bookseller's Association conference)

Recently this was Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore which I'd never have picked up without the recommendation.

23^rd: Favourite prize-winning book

Captain Coreilli's Mandolin

24^th: Something to do with Gatsby/Fitzgerald/20s (F. Scott Fitzgerald’s birthday)

Both the opening and closing lines from Gatsby are memorable and ones I've used in literary quizzes.

25^th: A book recommended by your parents

We share books all of the time but as a child mum gave me her childhood copies of Heidi and Little Women, and I had my dad's copy of Black Beauty.

26^th: Favourite poetry collection (TS Eliot’s birthday)

Not a huge poetry fan but do like Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and some collections of WW1 poetry.

27^th: Book set in your favourite country to visit (World Tourism Day)

My favourite destination changes all of the time but I guess Birds Without Wings would be a desert island book and thus counts here.

28^th: Favourite literary troublemaker

Paddington Bear although of course he doesn't mean to be causing trouble!

29^th: The book that made you question everything

I don't think I've come across one that made me question everything...

30^th: The best book you read this month.

I think that this will be Helen Macdonald's H is for Hawk as I have recommended it to so many people.

Book A Day August

Another part of the book world picked up the #bookadayUK baton in August and as anything that makes you think about, or talk about, books is good and so I continued to think about the 31 questions, and when possible to take part in the Twitter conversations.

This month's questions or prompts were given by the Siobhan Dowd Trust.

1st - To start, most arresting opening line?

"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink" always makes me smile, from I Capture the Castle.

2nd - Best pairing of words and pictures?

I adore Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French, simple words that the pictures add so much detail too.

3rd - Favourite collection of short stories?

Has to be those from Katherine Mansfield or Mollie Panter Downes both published by Persephone books.

4th - Best graphic novel?

I've only read a couple so for now has to be Maus but any recommendations are gratefully received.

5th - Classic hero/ine or antihero/ine?

I do like Henry V as portrayed by Shakespeare and Margaret of Anjou as written by Conn Iggulden is a strong character. Being more 'traditional' then m favourite antihero is Captain Hook.

6th - Best for a bedtime story?

I have very fond memories of the Chronicles of Narnia being read to me over time as bedtime stories.

7th - Enjoyed by several generations?

My mum and nan enjoyed Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson as much as I did.

8th - Never fails to cheer me up?

I love Business as Usual by Jane Oliver and Anne Stafford

9th - Most powerful storytelling?

I think that my vote on this one goes to Louis de Bernieres for Birds Without Wings

10th - Best written bestseller?

Depends on your definition of best seller I guess but I think my choice of a recent book is The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid.

11th - Ideal for a book group?

I really enjoyed the discussions my book group had when we looked at All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

12th - Most practical book?

Has to be the book How to Boil an Egg that my nan gave me when I left home totally unable to cook for myself.

13th - Favourite controversial read?

I'm taking controversial to mean most challenged/banned and picking To Kill a Mockingbird. 

14th - Best quick read?

I'm a fast reader so not many books take that long to read for me but I do re-read Tamora Pierce's Tortall books a lot and race through them as they are old friends.

15th - Best looooooooooooooooooong read?

Once more this has to be Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres.

16th - This book defends the undefended?

Not quite sure that I fully understand this prompt but Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie certainly talked a lot about an important genocide that has swiftly been forgotten.

17th - Most beautifully designed book?

All of those published by Persephone Books and Pierene Press are works of art.

18th - I read it to impress (& did it work?)

I've always been a stubborn reader who only reads what she wants, I'll take recommendations but I don't read to impress.

19th - Best young adult book?

Recently published has to be The Fault in Our Stars by John Green but my favourite teen books of all time are those by Tamora Pierce.

20th - The sequel was better than the first?

I think that the Harry Potter books improved as the series went on.

21st - Helps to tackle a difficult subject?

This can be any book really as we all find different things difficult, anything that pushes boundaries and raises questions is good.

22nd - 19th Century characters - lets play shag/marry/kill...

Now a confession - I don't think I've read enough books from this era to pick!

23rd - Best picture book for older readers?

The Sad Book by Michael Rosen.

24th - Who's life: best biography or autobiography?

The best one I've read is Carrying the Fire by Apollo astronaut Mike Collins - his story of being the 3rd man on Apollo 11 and the man who didn't walk on the moon.

25th - Recommended for a Bank Holiday?

A Fortnight in September by R C Sherriff, a wonderful book about the end of summer where nothing much happens but the story remains tense.

26th - A book worth persevering with?

Life is too short to keep going with books that you aren't enjoying but I did love Anna Karenina on the 3rd attempt.

27th - Classic book most relevant to now?

I think many of the books about wars through the ages that stress the waste of life and futility strike home the most right now.

28th - Most timeless modern book?

Another one that is hard to predict but I do keep returning to The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

29th - Was totally worth the hype?

I think this goes to Harry Potter as they are good stories and have inspired so many readers.

30th - Best back to school book?

For the first day at school I heartily recommend Chu's First Day of School by Neil Gaiman as Chu is such a wonderful character.

31st - Top book of the month?

Of the books I've picked for August's #bookadayUK my favourites have to be the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce, great fantasy novels and real comfort reads.

Book a Day July

As promised/threatened last month I've once more summed up all of my answers to the #BookadayUK questions for July into one place.  Some of the questions are a bit similar to those in June but I did manage to respond to a few tweets on the day this month!

1st - A book that made you laugh out loud

The Suicide Shop by Jean Tuele, trans. Sue Dyson.  Deliciously black comedy, I found it a mix of The Addams Family and Pixar's Ratatouille.

2nd - Favourite SF/Fantasy novel for world UFO day

Easier to pick authors than specific books as so many are series rather than stand-alone novels but John Wyndham is a real favourite.

3rd - Favourite novel in translation

Either The President's Hat trans. by a team at Gallic Books or All Quiet on the Western Front (new trans. by Murdoch).

4th - All time favourite American novel for 4th July Independence Day

Children's book has to be Little Women but Stoner by John Williams is one I've recommended a lot.

5th - Most delicious novel about food

I really liked Baking Cakes in Kigali and also Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe but I'm not sure I'd try the barbecue.

6th - Which book you will put down to watch the Wimbledon final

For the first time in a long time I actually stopped reading to watch the sport, I usually multitask, but I was reading Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles (again).

7th - Most chocolatey novel - it's National Chocolate Day

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without a doubt.

8th - Favourite Great War novel

Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is probably my favourite novel set in WW1 but my favourite book about the war is Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth.

9th - Most irritating character in a novel

Pollyana.  The idea of turning a positive to a negative is fine once in a while but for two novels and countless spin-offs it is just too much.

10th - Novel with the most memorable picnic for Teddy Bear Picnic Day

Any of the ones that happen in Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books.

11th - The book that made you cry

Many books can make me cry but John Green's The Fault in Our Stars left me a wreck for ages.

12th - Novel that best conjured a place for you

This would be Caroline Lawrence's Roman Mystery series, by the time I got to Rome I felt I knew the place and on visiting Ostia I felt I'd stepped back in time.

13th - Best title for a novel

Which ever one has just caught my eye and made me pick it over everything else I've got in a to read pile.

14th - For Bastille Day, your favourite novel about or set in France

No surprises here as I pick The President's Hat.

15th - Last book that you bought

On the day here it was the wonderful biography of the first American female in space - Sally Ride - as recommended by the team who run Space Lectures and the events in Pontefract with the astronauts.

16th - Favourite book to take to the beach

Cheating here as I have to pick my Kindle as it gives me access to 100s of books to suit whatever mood I'm in.

17th - Novel which surprised you the most

Probably On the Beach by Neville Shute as it was the first truly bleak book I ever read and I was surprised that books didn't have to have a positive ending. I was only about 12 at the time.

18th - Favourite crime novel of all time - it's the Harrogate Crime Festival

Not a favourite genre at all but I do like the Greek Detective books by Anne Zouroudi.

19th - Most memorable plot twist

We Need to Talk About Kevin. I really didn't expect how that concluded. Really powerful writing.

20th - Your desert island novel

Again I'll have to cheat and pick either my Kindle as the thought of being without a book is the scariest thing ever.

21st - The novel you expected to hate, but turned out you loved

I wasn't expecting to like Longbourn as I've not read Pride and Prejudice but it was a real surprise and favourite from 2013.

22nd - The novel you most like to give to friends

I'm always a bit worried that people won't like books I love so I tend to give book tokens!

23rd - Favourite novel with an exotic background

Twisting this to be favourite exotic background and saying anything set in Greece as they either bring back memories or inspire travel!

24th - A book that reminds you of your English teacher

My Family and Other Animals. Durrell was recommended to me by a teacher when I had no clue what to read next.

25th - Book that is your guilty pleasure

The one I'm reading when I should be doing anything else.

26th - The novel you wish you'd written

I'm a reader not a writer so it really could be any book ever written but I think that if pressed I'd pick Matilda by Roald Dahl

27th - For National Parent's Day - the best or worst parents in fiction

Predictable but Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is awesome.

28th - Favourite animal character

I think this one goes to Badger in Wind in the Willows - antisocial and grumpy but a really good friend when in need! Although Tigger will always be my true favourite character.

29th - Favourite likeable villain

Influenced by the film Hook I've always had a soft spot for Captain Hook from Peter Pan.

30th - The book that you'd like to read thanks to recommendations on the #bookadayuk thread?

I've been reminded of so many books in the past few months but I think that it is time to re-read the Swallows and Amazons series and to try The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov.

31st - The book that reminds you of someone special

Two here - Heidi and Black Beauty as my parents recommended these two to me and I still have their childhood copies of the books.