April Reading

There's not been much let-up in the number of books read here at the B Files in April. 110 was this month's total, taking me to 375 for the year so far. It's been a slightly different month to those earlier in the year; I spent the first 10 days on holiday in Cornwall, and treated myself to reading many lovely books that I had been saving. This included several republished children's books and some Greyladies titles (of which I was lucky enough to have three more from my parents for my birthday!). I spent quite a bit of time reading Orange related titles, from both this years list - an especial highlight was The still point, which was another birthday gift - and from previous longlists, and I intend to continue my project of reading from previous longlists over the next few months, with an "Orange Wednesday" feature on my blog. I have also read a lot of baking and cake decorating books (which I shall be posting about over the weekend). I also reread some favourite books, starting on the Sue Barton nurse books which I haven't read since I was at school. As a result, I have read less VMCs, none of which particularly stood out.

Apart from The still point, my favourite reads this month were: Treveryan (Angela Du Maurier), Rambles beyond railways (Wilkie Collins), Clothes Pegs (Susan Scarlett), The white family (Maggie Gee), Still missing (Beth Gutcheon - review to come during Persephone Reading Week) and Sex and stravinsky (Barbara Trapido - I am going to hear her talk about this book at the end of May). Fiona Cairn's cake book - Bake and decorate - and Jane Brocket's The gentle art of domesticity were the stand out non fiction rads.

What are my plans for May? It kicks off with Persephone Reading week, and I mentioned my plans for that yesterday. I've still got a stack of library books which have been chosen from Orange longlists. I've got quite a pile of interesting looking VMCs which I've acquired over the last week or so. And I intend to read some more about sugarcraft and cake baking (or at least admire the lovely pictures!). I am sure I will be borrowing many other books from the library too!

Rites of spring	Jessica Duchen
Pissed off parents club	Mink Elliot
Return of the soldier	West, Rebecca	VMC
The passion of Alice	Grant, Stephanie
My driver	Gee, Maggie
Steer by the stars	Fitzroy, Olivia	C
Snapped in Cornwall	Bolitho, Janie
Treveryan	Du Maurier, Angela
Clothes Pegs	Scarlett, Susan
Once a land girl	Huth, Angela
American wife	Sittenfeld, Curtis
Life with the lid on	Hopkinson, Nicola	AB
How to paint a dead man	Hall, Sarah
Barbara Hepworth : a memoir	Gardiner, Margaret
Buried in Cornwall	Bolitho, Janie
Framed in Cornwall	Bolitho, Janie
Taking the plunge	Lewis, Stacey
Rambles beyond railways	Collins, Wilkie
The marriage book	Lee, Sila	NF
Convent on styx	Mitchell, Gladys
Dry rot and daffodils	Mackie, Mary	AB
Hunting and gathering	Gavalda, Anna
Eliza's common	Douglas, O
The charm of North Cornwall	Drew, Alan	NF
Louisa	Brown, Pamela	C
The Vicarage Family	Hill, Lorna	C
It's only the sister	Du Maurier, Angela	AB
Faith fox	Gardam, Jane
Death on tiptoe	Ashby, RC
The whicharts	Streatfeild, Noel
Hungry Hill	DDM	VMC
Frogspawn and floor polish	Mackie, Mary	AB
Control freak chronicles	Tucker, Sarah
The village	Farrell, Nigel	NF
The still point	Sackvill, Amy	O
We met our cousins	Cannan, Joanna	C
A proper place	Douglas, O
Sweet intensity of everyday life	Nicholson, William
Jurassic Mary	Pierce, Patricia	B
One day in May	Alliott, Catherine
A woman's guide to adultery	Chewlow, Carol	VMC
The white woman on a green bicycle	Roffey, Monique	O
Still life on sand	Hayes, Karen
Island of adventure	Blyton, Enid	C RR
Alexander's bridge	Cather, Willa	VMC
Twisted Heart	Gowers, Rebecca	O
Miss Dahl's voloptuous delights	Dahl, Sophie	NF
Falling angels	Chevalier, Tracy
The clash	Wilkinson, Ellen	VMC
The last weekend	Morrison, Blake
Touch and go	Berridge, Elizabeth
101 recipes for kids	BBC Good Food	NF
Several perceptions	Carter, Angela	VMC
Call of Cornwall	Baker, Frank	NF
How the light gets in	Hyland, MJ
Bobbin up	Hewett, Dorothy	VMC
The earth hums in B flat	Strachan, Maria
Positively yours	Hearty, Amanda
Solar	McEwan, Ian
Shiny pennies and grubby pinafores	Foley, Winifred	AB
Sue Barton : student nurse	Boylston, Helen Dore	RR
Three sisters	Sinclair, May	VMC
To heaven by water	Cartright, Justin
The devil's music	Rusbridge, Jane
Memoir	McGahern, John	AB
Wintle's wonders	Streatfeild, Noel	C RR
The last summer	O'Brien, Kate	VMC
Joy luck club	Tan, Amy
Taxi driver's daughter	Darling, Julia
Where the apple ripens	Kessoon, Jessie	VMC
The hours before dawn	Fremlin, Celia	VMC
In and out of the forest	Foley, Winifred	AB
The white family	Gee, Maggie	O
Something borrowed	Reilly, Tina
She knew she was right	Litivinoc, Ivy
Junior officer's reading club	Hennessy, Patrick	NF
Fireworks	Carter, Angela	VMC
Major Pettigrew's last stand	Simonsen, Helen
Sue barton: senior nurse	Boylston, Helen Dore	RR
The camping book	Douglas, Ed	NF
Bake my I'm yours…cookie	Smith, Lindy	NF
The hummingbird bakery cookbook	Malouf, Talek	NF
Dancing girls	Atwood, Margaret	VMC
Foolish lessons in life and love	Rudge, Helen
Mother's guide to cheating	Long, Kate
Still missing	Gutcheon, Beth	P
Some sunny day	Lynn, Vera	AB
Offshore	Fogle, Ben	NF
Princess Priscilla's fortnight	Arnim, Elizabeth von
The crimson rooms	MacMahon
Sue Barton: visiting nurse	Boylston, Helen Dore	RR
Sapphira and the slave girl	Cather, Willa	VMC
The bonesetter's daughter	Tan, Amy	O
The gluten-free casein free diet	Lord, Susan	NF
Gentle art of domesticity	Brocket, Jane	NF
Paradise	Morrison, Toni	O
Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad	Rowlatt, Bee	NF
Advice for strays	Kilkers, Justine
Bake and decorate	Cairns, Fiona	NF
At the still point	Benson, Mary	VMC
Sex and Stravinsky	Trapido, Barbara
Sue Barton: Rural nurse	Boylston, Helen Dore	RR
The spoilt kill	Kelly, Mary	VMC
Old maid remembers	Du Maurier, Angela	AB
Healthy eating for IBS	Braimbridge	NF
The sufferer's guide to coping with IBS	IBS Research Update	NF
Understanding your irritable bowel	Silk, David	NF
Cupcakes	Blake, Susannah	NF
The world of Thrush Green	Miss Read	AB
Prefects at the chalet school	EBD	C RR