The Cleaner of Chartres

by Sally Vickers
This was not my normal choice of read but I enjoyed it. The descriptions of Chartres and the Cathedral are very good and the plot-while not exactly complex-moves along at an engaging pace. The cleaner of the title has a mysterious past that is unveiled as the story progresses and has a good upbeat ending.
Some of the story line seems a bit unnecessary-do we really need a mother superior running off with a monk in Rome? Still apart from some monor irritations along this line it was still agreeable. 6/10

The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

by Jonas Jonasson 

This is a book that lives up to the promise of the wacky title.
It follows the fortune of its hero, Allan Karlsson, following his climb out of the said window as well as going back over his remarkable life.

The book is very funny in places but falls into the tallest of tall story categories and is ultimately a feel good story that I was more than ready for by my Christmas break. Apart from the real life historical figures there are a great array of support characters that you cannot help cheering on as the book progresses. 7/10