Just checked back and realised I have also finished the Mage Storm series by Lackey, the fact that I had forgotten about it pretty much sums it up.

Also my 80 book challenge starts tomorrow!

I got some lovely books for Xmas from my dad and stepmother, who bought me three big beautiful books; The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens Vol 1 and The Complete Shakespeare. They are huge, heavy, with high quality paper and gorgeous illustrations. I just need to find a way to read them without giving myself a dead leg!

Mr Neverwithoutabook bought me Nigella's Feast and Hugh Fearlessly-Eatsitall's Meat, so my obsession with glossy cookbooks (cookery porn!) was sated.

BrotherNeverwithoutabook gave me £50 in Play.com vouchers which equalled 8 new books (a Trudi Canavan series, Neverwhere by Gaiman, Sharp North and also the Warprize series. I also had £7 in Amazon vouchers left so I bought Dragonfly and the second Flambards book.

Finished 'Them'- not impressed at all.

Am currently reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser which is doing a very good job of reminding me why I hate fast food, over-processed food and big corporations.

Apologies for quiet but havent been very well. Lots of time for reading though and I have read:

All Lackey 'Mage Winds' trilogy
2/3 Lackey 'Mage Storms' trilogy
Survivors by Terry Nation
Alas Babylon by Pat Frank
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Dont Bet on the Prince by Jack Zipes
The Darcys and The Bingleys by Marsha Altman (posted review on Amazon.co.uk)

Currently Reading:

Storm Breaking
Them by Jon Ronson

Waiting for:

3 DVDs from Amazon
1 Childrens book from Amazon
Last book of obsidian trilogy from Amazon

Have still to spend:

£25 of Play.com vouchers
46 Bookmooch points

Challenge from the 1st january:
To read at least 80 books in 2009

I have been completely absorbed recently in 'The Mage Winds Trilogy' by Mercedes Lackey. I know Lackey isnt taken very seriously by serious fantasy fans but right now its just what I need. I have another Lackey trilogy lined up after this one.

My review has been put up on the Blog a Penguin Classic website finally. I got one for TheChild an one for myself. But of course as she cant read I had to do it for her! Anyway, its The Last of the Mohicans and it is here:

http://www.blogapenguinclassic.co.uk/site/pcReadReview.php5?review_id=37

Finished the Linda Berdoll book. I am in two minds about it really, on one hand I really quite enjoyed it and on the other it was quite disappointing and I am veering rapidly between the two. Some events are given from the point of view of both Darcys, which is a little odd and takes some getting used to, but then other events-where you might expect to hear both sides, left me flicking through the book to check whether I missed the other viewpoint. Berdoll also chooses to regularly shifts perspective on her other characters too, one minute we are at Pemberley with the Darcys and the next in London with Wickham, something which is successful in other novels (although not my favourite story device), but here felt awkward and disrupted the flow of the story. Added to this were the incongrously written passages where Berdoll's affected style slipped and literally shook me out of the story into reality, forcing me to make the effort to reconnect with the story.
The book also ended abruptly, I am not sure whether Berdoll intends to write a third sequel, but it seemed that although the loose ends are tied up to a certain extent there is a lot suggested by the book that is left to explore. The Darcys are explicit in their desire for another child (and just explicit in their desire for each other too!) for example, but whether they succeed is left for us to ponder at the end of the book-and this is a book where nothing is left to the imagination! Indeed, so much is repeated and reiterated that Berdoll seems often to have forgotten that the majority of her readers will actually have read Pride and Prejudice and her first book, so that she doesnt need to have reams of explanation about the previous plot. Darcy Takes a Wife is a long book-I have the trade paperback which runs to over 400 pages and it seems such a shame that there isnt more about the family, characters arent developed further and that we dont advance further in the history of this very famous literary marriage.

Having said all of that I did enjoy the book immensely and miss the world of the Darcys now I have finished the book, but this book has so much potential to be something more than it is.

2 bookmooch books, one and two of a trilogy:

Diplomacy of Wolves and Vengeance of Dragons by Holly Lisle

I also picked up a whole load of 50p books from the Help the Aged charity shop which is closing down soon (apparently they are being charged extortionate amounts of rent so they have to close), and some 30p books from PDSA.

When we were orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Demon Headmaster by Gillian Cross
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Casanova by Andrew Miller
Rapture by David Sosnowski

Also finally reached the conclusion of my debate with Photobox. All I wanted was a nice 10x8 photo of The Child enlarged but the first five came with her face cut off at the forehead. My mistake so I am more careful and reorder-another five duff photos. Complained-lady reorders for me free, reassuring me it will be fine this time. Encouraged I wait for the post, only to receive another 5 truncated daughter pictures. Refunded all my money but now have 15 useless pictures and no Xmas presents.
I have to say though I was very impressed with their customer service, something probably helped by the fact that I was unfailingly polite, I didnt rant once. They were very apologetic, responses were speedy and the money was returned 2 hours after I received the final duff set of pictures, with an apology. They even refunded me for the first set which I was prepared to write off as my own foolishness.

I have also done about half of the Xmas shopping, organised who is visiting when for Xmas and sent out lists of present ideas to baffled relatives (MrNeverwithoutabook is notoriously impossible to buy for as he covets nothing-unlike me who has a permanent wishlist!)