Hayley

Something simply isn't right, she said A dung beetle's climbed in my bed It rolled up my sock

I didn't even know there was a V for Vendetta graphic novel! Did that come out after the film or before it?

Basically seconding Chrissy here but I agree that to 'give law to the land' means introducing new laws to a place. 'The law of the land' is actually a very old legal term for the laws in force in a country. I think (although I haven't read the book) that he's talking about the rebels giving new law to the land, rather than the other way around though? So, in the extract you included, he'd basically be saying that people are getting out of hand, being overly cruel and uncivilised, but because of the nature of this conflict (where the population is rising up against the existing laws in the hope they can change things) it would be impossible to stop that cruelty from happening. And I also definitely agree that 'the lord of the forest engendering with a serpent, or the eagle with the wren' is a just a metaphor for extremely unlikely/ ill-matched couples. I'm pretty sure it's not folklore related.

Yes, about 300 pages I think! That sounds good, I hope you'll enjoy this read-a-thon then! I hope you'll enjoy some relaxing reading time instead and I hope that everyone in your family is okay!

Another indie offer - for the author’s birthday Angry Robot has 50% off the ebook The Second Bell by Gabriela Houston (described as Slavic folklore fantasy): https://www.angryrobotbooks.com/shop/year/2021/the-second-bell/

That is beautiful! And what a lovely setting for a library! Yay! That's excellent news. I've heard a few people say they felt better after their second one actually. I like Despicable Me, especially Agnes and the grumpy dog Aww, it's lovely that you got to meet her now! And now you can buy more books to fill the saved space . I do love going through my books too. I'm looking forward to getting all my books onto shelves in my new house for that reason (even though it's a bit of a daunting prospect too!). I particularly love how you arrange yours. You might have arranged them differently at your new house, but in the video you posted here of your shelves at your old house everything was so organised and reminded me of the way they organise book shops! I planted things in my new garden yesterday and I'm very excited about it. It's really satisfying to clear away all the overgrown things and find the way it used to be (like we found a little wall, a statue of a fairy, and even a hanging basket that had been totally covered over by ivy!).

I really can’t believe that it’s almost July! I should have a bit more reading time for this one so I’ll aim to read a good chunk of, if not finish, The Essex Serpent

Really tempted by this after you bought it up! Oh no! I’m glad it’s sorted now! Fingers crossed you’ll enjoy loads of reading in the next few days . I’m still working my way slowly through The Essex Serpent. I can’t wait for all the moving chaos to be done so I can spend a whole evening reading!

This made me laugh because that’s exactly what I think of when I think of Conrad. I’m surprised that The Shadow Line is different! It’s an interesting point that nautical books tend to focus on the captain, not the sailers. I’ve never thought about that before.

Fahrenheit Press (specialising in crime fiction) have 15% off all products with the code MIDWEEK15. Ending tomorrow - Fahrenheit Press (fahrenheit-press.com)

Hello, welcome to the forum!

Yes, I was horrified. We all know Amazon's practices are iffy, but that was a truly shocking amount of waste. On the subject of Amazon alternatives, have I already posted about Book-ish? They have 4 for 3 offer on Penguin 'Summer' books at the moment: Penguin 4 for 3 offer! – book-ish.co.uk

That would be amazing, I'd love to try them if you don't mind! Thank you, I appreciate that. I'll try not to be too annoying . This sounds like it would be very pretty though!

To be fair, I would pay £30 a box if they did . I've noticed that you can buy them individually, where they're about £4 per pencil. I am tempted to buy a single one at some point, just to see what all the fuss is about! Aware that this may be a stupid question, but would I plant the cucumber seeds in a pot first, or just put them straight into the ground? I was hoping you might say the posts don't need to be too tall because we found a couple of discarded posts just in the bushes when we were clearing space, so I can probably use those!

This thread was inspired by Athena's thread on the subject a couple of years ago . What books are coming out this year that you're excited about!? I saw this in an email from Waterstones today and I definitely want to get it: The Haunting Season: Tales for Long Winter Nights, The Haunting Season by Bridget Collins, Natasha Pulley | Waterstones. The selection of authors sounds great and just look at the sprayed edges on the exclusive edition!

I am a list-making person too, I love the thought of doing them with nice ink! Have you ever heard of palomino pencils? Someone recommended that I get them for writing but they're really expensive for pencils! I can't think of any I don't like! Do you think it would be too late in the year for me to grow from seed now? I know that would be a lot cheaper but I've seen established plants (well, of pepper and tomato at least) in shops now. I suppose I'll be able to do a better plan next year, when I'm hopefully here in the spring! Thank you! (It looks like you'll have loads of tomatoes!) How tall are the posts?

For independent bookshop week, Bert's Books are giving away £5 national book tokens with orders of £15 or more. It's only while they last but an hour ago they still had 74 vouchers: Products – Bert's Books (bertsbooks.co.uk)

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I totally agree with the bits you loved about Lies Sleeping, that was my favourite thing too! (I also always round my ratings up for Goodreads!) This sounds amazing

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud - William Wordsworth

I can read tab but not sheet music. Like you, I can work out bits of sheet music but if I try to read a whole chunk it just becomes a muddle. I definitely couldn't play a song from it. A friend told me once (when I got my first guitar) that if you lie your guitar down on your lap, your strings are now the lines of the tab. That's how I learnt . That's very cool, I bet you've had some great experiences! I very nearly bought a pepper plant the other day but decided I should do some more research first (for things like should I leave it in a pot, does it need to be in direct sun etc.). We've started cutting back all the overgrown things and weeds at my new house and there is space to plant things now. I'd really like to grow edible things, I'm just not quite sure what yet, or where they should go!

I would call that a successful shopping trip . Pine looks really good, I was tempted to buy that too. I also love the cover!

Woah, that is hot! It's about 24 here and I feel like I'm melting already! Noooooo. I thought the predicted storms meant it would be cooler tonight!!

Wow, you did well! I hope you enjoyed them all It definitely does . I also just looked this book up because it sounded familiar and it looks really good!

I was cheered up today (enough to come and post again) by the fact that I now have internet again!