Hayley

First goal completed . I don't have all my books with me in my new house yet but I do have the Septimus Heap books, so I'm going to start Physik and also continue to dip into Silence in the Age of Noise by Erling Kagge.

Thank you for the reminder I'm definitely aiming to finish The Essex Serpent (about 60 pages to go, I think) this read-a-thon and start a new book!

I think there should be a rule about putting Christmas decorations up before it's Halloween. I did have an email from The Works a few days ago to say their Christmas Craft items were now in stock, but I understand that more because people need time to make the things!

Oh wow so they have good offers on the books? I feel like I missed out here! Mine just had loads of posters and t-shirts!

I've never read anything by her either but I noticed she has a new book (I'm not sure if it's actually out yet) called Honeycomb that sounds really good. It made me look at what she actually writes and she has a real variety of genres!

Interesting! The one near me did have a bookshop opposite it, so maybe that's why they decided not to sell books? I suppose, when you think about it, you could put together a really good selection of books that are also films/ tv series/ have albums based on them!

Ooooh! I think I'll have to read the next Earthsea book once I've finished my current one now

That's interesting! I'm glad I know what to expect now, I think I'll enjoy the short stories knowing they're going to wrap up into a good bit!

I don't have a HMV near me any more but I'm pretty sure the one we used to have never sold books! Is it something they've started doing recently?

A lively young lassie from Glasgow At a dance, met a bloke named Steve Hazgoe... They immediately clicked, And when they got nicked... They blew kisses through bars in the window. There was a small puppy from Spain

I used to have a copy of Twinkle that belonged to my sister. I haven't thought about it for a long time but your post reminded me how much I loved it! I must have been very young but I remember loving the pictures, particularly ones of ice skating! I also do this, although usually I've got such a huge backlog that I don't know what to read next anyway

I could never do that. That is an impressive skill!

I am genuinely shocked. Although I know you're right that it works out well if you'd be buying cinema tickets for a whole family. Do you get to keep the film forever too?

I don't do either but $30 seems expensive! Is that for a particular subscription?

Thank you! Yes, that is definitely what's happening to my tomato! I've just been tying the extra stems to the post to support them, but I thought it seemed oddly heavy! I will be going out to see if there's any more 'suckers' as soon as I finish work. I'll make sure to check the bottom too, thanks! I will definitely try that next year!

I didn't know that and they are being quite hidden by leaves now so it would probably be a good idea! Oh, maybe that's what they meant! It is quite bushy

Have you noticed a difference? I think it's a bit late for the poor shoots now but definitely experimenting with these next time! Tomato question: do we just let them grow as many tomatoes as possible? Mine is very heavy with tomatoes now (still green!) and someone told me I should have cut some off so there's more energy for the existing fruits. It seems a shame somehow though. [a quick side note regarding the Palomino pencils - they might not be magic but they really are lovely to write with! Thanks again Brian ]

I'm glad you liked it did you think this one

It's a shame that the execution isn't great when the idea sounded so good! Intriguing! I have been very tempted to buy Hamnet a few times. I tend to stay away from fictionalised accounts of real lives because there's often something about it that just doesn't work for me. Everyone who's read it on here has really liked it so far though, so I might have to give it a chance next time I order books.

I must not have been paying very much attention to book releases this year because I haven't heard of any of them! I've also never read anything by Richard Powers so going to look him up now

We have a Writers section of the forum, which will unlock once you have ten posts

I was vaguely aware of booktubers from Twitter, but I only actually watched a video when Athena set up her channel Gaia Athena - YouTube . I haven't used youtube much at all recently though, so I have a lot to catch up on!

Hello, welcome to the forum! I recently started reading the Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage and they've been brilliant, so I'd add that as a fantasy recommendation

Really can't wait to hear your thoughts on this, there are some very interesting developments! I'm about 3/4 of the way through The Essex Serpent now and still enjoying it. I find it relaxing to read, which is nice. It's not very dramatic but it is very well written, so you feel drawn in to that world. I'm also re-reading The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, because I'm tutoring on it soon and need to refresh my memory!

Oooh they really are lovely! I do this to everything I want to make a note on. I have a lot of post it notes. Lengthier notes get a whole square one, so I can write on it properly, while points that I just want to remember or go back to get a little arrow note. Really interesting books end up like spiky post-it hedgehogs .