What's on my bookshelf Wednesday

Okay, okay - I know it's Saturday, but I did hit the publish button on this post on Wednesday.  The dodgy, holiday-spot internet connection obviously put the kibosh on it, a fact which I only became aware of now I am home!  So I'm posting it now instead...

I was maybe a bit too adventurous in what I brought along to read on holiday...

'Wolf Hall' came along, but I decided that if I didn't retire from reading it, I would never get round to any of the others, which would have seemed a bit of a waste of luggage space.  So I took my leave of Tudor times and headed for Alaska in the 1920s with 'The Snow Child' written by Eowyn Ivey.

'The Snow Child' was the perfect choice for this holiday which has been so full of whirling snowstorms and magical icy places.  I just LOVED this book even if many a tear was shed...Some of the writing was very evocative, making me want so much to visit Alaska. 

(Though however much I like snow, ice and magical wintery scenery, I think I'd chose to do so in summer.)  

It even made me plan a couple of sewing projects, not something usually provoked by fiction I read!  

I was a little bereft when I finished 'The Snow Child', unable to start a new book as I didn't feel I could enjoy anything as much.  After a few days though, I started on this...

For once, this was a book that ended the way I wanted.  It was good, if rather harrowing at times, probably inevitable in a book that deals with World War I.  It had me googling Major Gillies and finding out a little about his work during and after the Great War - astounding.

Next, a complete change of style with this...

No tears with this one so far, just plenty of snorts and guffaws!  If I get a wriggle on, I might just finish it before heading for home the day after tomorrow.  My 'training' has gone pretty well and I am returning to Blighty much fitter than I have been for many a long year!  

(Oh - and the muscles!  Oh, the muscles!) 

Not quite sure if I will make the team for the next Winter Olympics, a fact that I blame entirely on the rather too numerous days of low visibility and high wind - it was impossible to find the Super-G course, and if I had, I'd have been blown right off the top!

Back soon with my little French flavoured giveaway.  I will be glad to get home to a reliable internet and to more normal blogging as it's been hard to post comments here, so looking forward to catching up with your blogs!