A is for ANNA HOPE. I thought that ‘Wake ‘ might be a one-off, but I am pleased to report that I have just finished reading her second novel and I loved it.

B is for BERET. I lost my favourite hat, the very first beret that I made, and so I have knitted another one; in the same yarn but a very different colour.

C is for CATHERINE HOWE has been a lovely part of the soundtrack to my life lately.

D is for DAFFODILLS. I bought several bunches on Saturday – some for my mother and some for us.

E is for ELEANOR CATTON. ‘The Luminaries’ is my audiobook of the moment, and I’m loving my second journey through this extraordinary work.

F is for FORECAST. Who would have thought that singing the shipping forecast could be so lovely,

G is for GRIP-LIT? Psychological thrillers were around long before Gone Girl! A very good piece by Sophie Hannah, from last Saturday’s Guardian.

H is for HILARY MANTEL has written about Elizabeth Jane Howard in the same paper.

I is for IS IT IN THE GARDEN? We have to be very careful about saying anything in excited tones in our house; because any time we do Briar dashed over to the window to see if there is anything out there.

J is for JONATHAN UNLEASHED by Meg Rosoff. I’m hoping that this will be a lovely light read.

K is for THE KNIGHT OF CHEERFUL COUNTENANCE by Molly Keane. It was my Classics Club pin book, but I haven’t read it yet. I do like the look of it, but it just wasn’t the right book for now.

L is for LOPI. I love the look of Modern Lopi by Lars Rain, and I hope it will be available in the UK soon.

M is for MOLLY HUGHES. I was delighted to find a copy of ‘A London Family Between he Wars’ in a charity shop.

N is for NOBU. I’m not sure that I could wear it, but I love the design.

O is for THE ORACLES. When I looked through last year’ reading I realised that I hadn’t read anything by Margaret Kennedy, and I pulled this book from the shelf to read very soon.

P is for PILGRIMAGE. ‘Honeycomb’ is this month’s instalment of Dorothy Richardson’s magnum opus, and I am really looking forward to stepping into Miriam’s life again.

Q is for QUIET. I like this time of year, in between the fuss of Christmas and New Year and the business of the holiday season.

R is for RED RAG GALLERY. I’ve been doing a lot of browsing of online art galleries lately, and this one is a particular favourite.

S is for SONG OF THE SEA MAID by Rebecca Mascull. I must mention that one of my favourite novels of last year ha just been published in a lovely paperback edition.

T is for TROLLOPE IN CORNWALL. I’d been vaguely thinking that I hadn’t read any Trollope for a while, and wondering what I might read next, when I found a volume of his short stories, published by a local press, in a charity shop. There was my answer.

U is for UNDERFOOT. It has been so wet that the ground is completely sodden, and that is very sad when you’re a border terrier who like to have balls bounced for her.

V is for THE VOYAGE OUT by Virginia Woolf. I meant to read this in 2015, its centenary year, but I ran out of time. I hope that this will be its year.

W is for WOOLLYDOZEN. I’ve signed up to knit twelve Woolly Wormhead hats in 2016, and, as I’ve finished a hat in a fine gauge and worked on some other projects in month one, I think it’s eminently do-able.

X is for EXCLUSION. The railings on the steps down to the beach were battered by winter storms, and the council thinks it has closed off access to until they are fixed, but Briar and I have found a way through.

Y is for YARN DIET. I had planned to be sensible this year and to only buy when I was ready to start a project, but I lapsed when I saw tem skeins of Rowan Alpaca Colour in a lovely shade of  red being sold ridiculously cheaply,

Z is for ZOE OLDENBOURG. Her historical novel ‘The World is Not Enough’ has been sitting on my bedside table for ages and I really want to read it, but I haven’t found the right moment – yet ….