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I’m not on Twitter/X either, but looked for you on Facebook - there used to be a FB group - and Instagram and Goodreads.

I must admit I got a bit of a shock when I got a screen saying that my account had been suspended yesterday! I don't do Twitter though so can't contact you on that.

Apologies to everyone who has been trying to access the forum for the last few days. We are having some significant issues with the website's database and it was necessary for our hosts to suspend the site so it wouldn't cause issues for other people on their server. Unfortunately, this coincided with me having tech issues, so I didn't realise the site was down straight away. The forum has been reinstated for 24 hours while we try to fix the database problems, but as that fix is ongoing, I do expect access to the forum to be a little sporadic. Please bear with me and I'll try to get things sorted as swiftly as possible. In the meantime, if the forum isn't accessible, you can contact me by email at hayleyflynnbcf@gmail.com or on Twitter/X @bookclubforum.

coats of green lace

Went to see the new Wuthering Heights film on Monday.....the best I can say about it is that it's a real curate's egg - a lot of the supporting characters don't exist, and some have been changed beyond recognition, some of the sets, though stunning, seem to belong in a different book adaptation, and one scene bizarrely has plastic cellophane clothing covers everywhere! Margot Robbie is gorgeous but way too old for Cathy, Jacob Elordi didn't do it for me at all, but then Heathcliff has always left me cold, some scenes are very well done and it's beautifully filmed with stunning scenery, though occasionally I half expected Bonnie Tyler to appear singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart", and some scenes are very tawdry, and definitely not in the book!

Riders of the Storm - the Doors

Ghost Riders in the Sky - Vaughan Monroe

Big Sky - Kate Bush

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton “It had never occurred to me that wild animals could be so predictable in their habits. Seeing a flutter of wings, I would note in passing that there was “a bird” in the garden. I hadn’t thought that it might be the same bird, coming at the same time, to do the same things, day after day, and I felt a greater sense of connection to the wildlife around me. I wondered how much of the nature of animals is obscured from us simply because of the limitations of our senses and powers of observation.” This is an account that Dalton has written about an occurrence during the Covid pandemic and the working from home that came as a result for many. Dalton worked in London and lived in the countryside. She found a leveret one day in the road near her home. This is the story, as the title suggests of the rather hit and miss raising of said leveret. There is a great deal of detail about the life and behaviour of the hare as it grew. It was semi wild and came and went from Dalton’s house and garden. It also raised its own leverets as it grew older and Dalton charts it all. She also reflects on nature and her relationship with it: “I felt a new spirit of attentiveness to nature, no less wonderful for being entirely unoriginal, for as old as it is as a human experience, it was new to me.” Reviews have been almost universally positive which words like “deeply moving”, lyrical”, “engaging”, and “wonderful” to name but a few. I did appreciate the information about hares and the highlighting of their plight in relation to modern agriculture, human activity and hunting. There was also some snippets of poetry and folklore about the hare which was illuminating. Whilst it was interesting at times, it was also rather repetitive and read a little like a wiki page. For me the reflection was somewhat limited. Dalton couldn’t have done what she did if her work had not involved sitting in computer meetings for hours on end. It’s all a little middle class and Kes it very much isn’t. However I did enjoy it and Dalton has clearly done her homework on hares. 6 out of 10 Starting Sugar and Other Stories by A S Byatt

I like the Arlo Guthrie version too. Big City Life ~ Mattafix

City of New Orleans - Willie Nelson (I like this song by Willie)

and accompanied by multiple

Yes, she's very funny. Her other books 'The Plague and I', 'Anybody Can Do Anything', and 'Onions In The Stew' are very good too.

I read The Egg and I as a teenager and loved it.

of punk and teddy

Gave up on the Elif Shafak and am now reading Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Henry Farrell

I will definitely put the book on my to be read list. I am glad to see you mention "The Pastures of Heaven" as I don't recall having read that book AND here I thought I have read all of Steinbeck's books. 😊

It's actually quite warm and sunny for once, not sure how long it will last though.

City of Blinding Lights -U2

Just finished listening to Looking For Betty MacDonald by Paula Becker. Betty was the author of The Egg and I and several other books. You might be interested, Muggle, the last place they lived was a ranch in the Carmel Valley, California where a couple of Steinbeck's books were set (Cannery Row and nearby in The Pastures of Heaven). Betty sadly died at 50 from cancer.

was a glorious mix

No snow here but it is cold. Another photo.

Wow, Muggle! Are you getting lots too?

When the Lights Go on Again ~ Vera Lynn