Chrissy

I bought Piranesi in the recent daily deal on kindle, so I am delighted to see that you have given it a 5/5. I am fairly certain I also have Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell around here somewhere. There will be shelf rummaging later!

I have (finally) been kind of reading at some words! And I do actually mean it that way. The struggle and accompanying anxiety were escalating, so I just made myself start reading an old favourite series. it was a real struggle, so I decided to jump about and read the chapters I had especially enjoyed. It appears to have worked, so I will be attempting a real-new-to-me-and-proper-reading-of-a-book this weekend. Wish me luck!

Gorgeous blankets Poppy! The colours are just so heart lifting.

I always laugh to myself when I see a photo of books on shelves, as I will automatically tilt my head so I can read the titles. On occasion I may even have used the magnifier function to scan them. Thank you for then posting photos of stacks - so much gentler on the neck!

Same here! I look forward to reading it.

Poetry has been helping, the reading and writing of it. Usually I just tuck myself into an old favourite, but even that isn't working. This weekend I will be going through some books ready for donating - I'm hoping (but trying so very hard not to) this may trigger a "Gosh, I remember buying this, I MUST read it!".

Busy old fool, unruly Sun,Why dost thou thus,Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run? Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide Late school-boys and sour prentices, Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,Call country ants to harvest offices;Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time. (Taken from The Sun Rising by John Donne) A poem I first encountered, written on the side of Derek Jarman's Prospect Cottage in Dungeness, Kent UK

Septimus! Yeah! So glad you are enjoying them. So sorry to read about your boyfriends cat. Pets are family. I hope the missing of her is getting easier for you both.

My reading mojo has clearly decided to isolate itself away from me. I am really struggling with it, and that gnawing panic that accompanies the not reading just makes it all so much worse, and longer lasting. Dammit! I have been buying books though, including a beautiful book I have bought to give as a present, The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane. Here is an example from the book (https://www.waterstones.com)

Quite a few years ago I bought the dvds of the 1990's UK series Drop The Dead Donkey. I discovered them in a box recently, so we have watched the first few episodes of the first series. We are both the right age to remember the topics / scandals / politicians etc covered, and have found the series has aged pretty well. It made us chuckle to note how big the pcs (especially the monitors) look, they used videos, and, of course no mobile 'phones. How times have changed!

It depends on the book, and my reason for reading it. Studying, I may make light pencil marks in books I plan on keeping, but usually use notebooks or post it notes. For pleasure, I rarely make any marks, and use a bookmark or make mental note of my page.

Hello kikimora. I could only find reference to two translations. One was Spanish, and the other German. Not much help unfortunately, although I have made note of the title (I see it is one of a trilogy by Stanislaw Grzeiuk), as it looks to be a fascinating, if harrowing read. Good luck with finding an English translation.

Glad that she has had her 2nd jab. I can agree that minions help with the sore arm, and many other ailments! Nothing like that first meeting with a beloved bubba! I loved reading this! My booky heart nods eagerly at a book-life improving tip, and your happiness at discovering it. 'Phonecalls and messaging are great, but a face to face makes such a difference. It is exciting to grow things, and your discoveries sound lovely. We visited Arundel on the south coast yesterday. We spent 2 hours wandering around the wetland centre they have there. Lots and lots and lots of ducks and geese and all sorts of other water birds, including pelicans! It was the first proper 'what we used to do' outing that we have taken since 2019. As he headed away we also got to see the Red Arrows flying display team (they were appearing at the nearby Festival of Speed at Goodwood). What a view, and what a racket!

Raven! Does buying a book safe count as book activity? I have wanted one since I was 10 years old, and saw a cheap but appealing one, so bought it. I have no proper idea what I will keep in it, so for the moment I have locked away a crisp ten pound note. I am ridiculously happy with it. Don't judge - it's been a long lockdown.

The former pub. The King's Head & Eight Bells in London appears in Marge Piercy's Gone To Soldiers. Having visited there many years ago, it stood out for me when reading the book.

The rain has poured. The sun has shined. The rain has poured. The triffid'esque weeds in my garden have started to make laughing noises as I pass them by. I WILL have my revenge on them!

I will whisper this, so as not to frighten my reading mojo.......but I have quietly started to read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. My To Be Read pile is tall in a physical book sense, and takes many pages up on my kindle so I decided to just throw myself at a book and see how I got on with it. Couldn't for the life of me remember the synopsis for the book, nor the reason I had bought it so long ago, but does that matter? I AM READING AT LAST!

Isn't The Murders in the Rue Morgue considered to be the first detective novel? It's certainly ahead of the likes of Sherlock Holmes. I haven't read it, but will add a big YET to that statement, as I do plan on doing so sometime.

Hello Fife. I have read the excerpts you put up, and I must admit I am struggling a bit with the first one. I would have assumed that 'to give law to the land', would mean imposing new (and potentially unpopular) laws onto an unwilling and rebellious people. But I am not certain from the context. The second is not from folklore as far as I know, but is used to emphasise how unsuitable Mrs Dorothy felt the relationship between Audley and Amelia to be. She would have been more likely to accept a tiger (often considered the lord of the forest) mating with a snake, 'or the eagle with the wren'. That is how unlikely a match Audley and Amelia are! I hope that helps a little.

I have kept the panic at bay for not having a book on the go by doing lots of sewing (adjusting of clothes, patching up holes etc) which has been satisfying. I feel a reading urge coming on, so I will see how we go some time today. I got quite worked up about the extraction, which is very unlike me. All was over and done with in minutes! Feeling so much better now, so I say "Bring it on!" to my reading mojo! Thank you - hugs always welcome! And the same to you. x That is so good to hear lunababymoonchild, I was intrigued by the synopsis. The slump feels like it is moving on! I have bookmarked the tor website to rummage around on later. Thank you for the link.

Yeah, it'll be a while before I am back gnawing on raw meat and shards of bone from my latest kill. I have found myself feeling philosophical about this wet weather, but in a stating-of-the-bleeding-obvious kind of way. I find myself musing that a) it's watering the plants, b) it' will stop when the time comes and c) It won't rain forever.

Overcast and hazy first thing, and we have enjoyed the rain on and off all day. Love the sound of it on the trees, and the scent in the air, but I would love to sit in my garden with a mug of tea for half an hour some time.

Feeling much more like myself and have bought The Plague by Albert Camus, and Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke. Over the last year I have seen a few Camus quotes that have intrigued me, so I decided perhaps I should read something proper by him.

I tried, but it hasn't done it for me! My theory is that it's because I have been enjoying a tooth abscess over the past week or so. The offender has now been removed. Tooth out - book in, hopefully. I will start rummaging on my kindle and bookshelves in he next day or two. If I do it too soon I may scare the horses. It's great when you enjoy something, and it sparks an interest or thought, and then you can go off on a tangent and read more on it.

Book Activity? I have been lost in a reading desert! My reading mojo abandoned me, but I glimpse an occasional page / e-page fluttering at me with reading nudges, so an oasis is on my horizon. I will be fine, unless I allow a panic to creep in. *Deep breathes*