Time flies . . .

I'm not sure where that week went but it's Friday again and whilst I have started getting stuff for Christmas I really haven't got very far with it. I've been quite tired this week though my arm seems to be standing up to the strain quite well, though today it's been a little bit achy - probably because of the damp weather. Sounds like a good excuse for a rest this weekend.

I finished reading How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day by Kath Kelly. The author announced to some of her friends that she was going to do this to save for her brother's wedding present. The pound a day didn't include rent - just food and other day to day stuff. It's an amusing read and does make you think about how much money you might waste. In a way she was lucky because she lived in Bristol and anyone who lives in a city probably has more chances for free events to go to than someone who lives in the country. Shopping at supermarkets when they're reducing stuff, looking for coins dropped on pavements - she gave these to charity at the end of the year - looking for free events which provide you with food and drink, take part in surveys, ask for free samples, have a holiday for free by volunteering, hitch hike, walk, cycle. etc etc. Whilst no one will probably follow all her ideas there must be something in the book for just about everyone - even if you only want to stop spending for a short time to save for something.

I also finished Priscilla Masters - Scaring Crows - a convoluted crime story which opens with two bodies in an isolated farmhouse and involves family relationships and feuds in the farming community. This author's books are well worth reading in my opinion and deserve to be better known.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Writing and reading progress

And it really is progress - 40,089 words to be precise. I have just written 2020 words since 5.30pm - it is now 6.50pm, so I'm feeling pleased with myself. There are no chapters even, just writing. I'll do the chapters when I do the editing, and decide whether I'm going to put in little asides about what the criminals are actually doing, which I come across quite a lot these days. It seems to me to be quite a good way of keeping the tension going.

Reading: I am currently reading Diana Janney's 'The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose'. Is it a children's book or is it for adults? The narrator is 14 years old Harriet Rose who has a book of her meditations published by her mother and her grandmother as a birthday present and stumbles unwittingly into overnight success. It's a wry look at life and fame and keeps you turning the pages. I like it.

I've also started Priscilla Masters' 'Wings over the Watcher' - featuring DI Joanna Piercy. It looks like being good - how could it fail with a female stalker involved? I'm indebted to martin Edwards at his blog (Do you write under your own name? - link at the top of the page under favourite blogs) for mentioning this author who I'd not tried before. I have managed to get hold of his 'The Cipher Garden' so I shall be reading and reviewing that before too long.