Chrissy

Lots and lots of rain overnight, grumblings of thunder but not lightning. Low cloud this morning, grey skies and showers. Everything is green and shiny and the massive weeds in my garden are going to be humongous by the time I get to deal with them!

Hot with an oppressive edge, only alleviated this morning with a hint of a breeze.

54 later on in the year, (but in my 30's in my head quite often - my 20's were mostly crappy, and best left well behind me).

There are some things in life worth spending a chuck of money on, to get the right item for your needs. Being able to 'read in peace' is definitely worth it. On Saturday I met my great-niece for the first time. She was born last year. She is delightful!

We is a brilliant book! Well recommended here. I have also read and immensely enjoyed The Rivers of London series, and Fahrenheit 451. Another one I would recommend is Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker. From amazon;

Congratulations to lunababymoonchild! And definitely worth a mention here!

Borne through many nations and over many seas I come to these wretched funeral rites, brother mine, so that I might hand you over with a final tribute in death and speak in vain to your silent ashes, since fortune indeed has stolen you yourself away from me – alas, my brother, cruelly snatched from me. But now accept these gifts dripping with fraternal tears, handed down by the ancient custom of our forefathers as a sorrowful tribute in funeral rites, and forevermore, brother, hail and farewell! (Catullus 101)

I hadn't realised that news of my Saturday supper parties had reached this far. Mmmm, cuy chactado washed down with a large tumbler of pisco! That always makes me get the tap shoes out. How strange that you would know about them though.

Another excellent choice! Many Congratulations, Raven!

I can only second Raven's post and sentiments, especially his but! * *(one 't', Raven before you pass comment!)

Glad you like the lines, megustaleer. They resonated with me when I first read them, and now regularly encircle my idle thoughts. An emerald is as green as grass; A ruby red as blood; A sapphire shines as blue as heaven; A flint lies in the mud. A diamond is a brilliant stone, To catch the world's desire; An opal holds a fiery spark; But a flint holds fire. (Precious Stones - Christina Rossetti)

Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night. (The 'famous' line from The Old Astronomer To His Pupil by Sarah Williams)

When I read this one, it was only afterwards that I realised just how much had been included in the book. The interweaving plot lines were brilliant, but there was no skimming over the history bits in any way. I love how the series compels me to read further on a subject. I spent some time looking up (among other bits) Caroline of Brunswick, and Arminus and the battle in Teutoburg Forest. If you do, go hide in a pod!

My Pa was a trifle erratic Some called him over dramatic Like a harpy he'd scream

A black Porsche Jimmy bought in Dalkeith. Purred like a tiger without any teeth

The series does get better! The first one felt a little muddled in parts, almost uncertain who the reader would actually be. The later books establish themselves better. Tiffany herself becomes a more likeable character, and the story develops well. If the mood grabs you, I would perhaps give the second book (A Hat Full Of Sky) a try.

Somewhere on the other side of this wide nightand the distance between us, I am thinking of you.The room is turning slowly away from the moon.This is pleasurable. Or shall I cross that out and sayit is sad? In one of the tenses I singingan impossible song of desire that you cannot hear.La lala la. See? I close my eyes and imagine the dark hills I would have to crossto reach you. For I am in love with you and this is what it is like or what it is like in words. (Carol Ann Duffy - Words, Wide Night)

It's been interesting reading through the posts here. Clearly the two forums evolved differently, with really good aspects to be found in both. There has always been an ebb and flow to the forum here, and the forum has undergone quite a few significant changes. It would be great to merge things in a way that would suit us all. The bottom line is that we all love reading, and so long as we keep that in the forefront of our interactions with each other, be it in blogs or review threads, we should all gain positively from our time spent on here. Hux, feel free to come throw poop in my blog anytime - it needs a bit of a re decoration - the curtains are hideous! I have been in a YA groove for quite a while now, so you may well find yourself more flinging and less commenting. Reading Circles / Reading groups. I think we had the group reads, where we decided upon a book to read at the same time. I seem to remember we drew up a list of members (who volunteered themselves!) who would 'run' them, with questions to promote discussion etc. We also did a 'pass the book along' thing, with a "I have this great book that I really enjoyed, I'll post it to anyone who fancies a read" vibe, that was then forwarded on until the last person who had it returned it to the original poster. It could get long winded, and often was quite a small pass around. A shake up would be a really good thing, and the timing is perfect with the change of host and arrival of fellow readers from BGO. Let me wrack my brain over other things that worked well, but have fallen away.

I've not read any of the books from the Strike series, itsmeagain, but have only heard good things about them. They are on my 'I'll get around to reading them one day' list of books. I have many lists of books that vary from 'I MUST possess immediately', through to 'only if the world collapses and these are all that are left'! ETA Making the physical book smaller. If the choice is to read a book pain free, or not to read it - its a straightforward tear it! Some books are truly chunky monkeys, and e readers aren't always the most comfortable to handle either.

Two fat blokes from the end of my street.... Thought hedgehogs made the tenderest meat

For me, it was her equating being the victim of domestic violence as her reasoning for not wanting female identifying individuals to use women only toilets. I experienced significant domestic violence in my past, but it had sod all to do with what loo I used! For someone who is such a good writer at times, I felt she was incredibly clumsy in what she was stating, and it all had a whiff of 'how dare anyone question it?' about it. I agree that the topic always tends to focus on the ladies toilets, which is actually surprising really. Ongoing debates on the subject are a must, I just hope they become less divisive and less causing of hurt. Back to big books...... I really enjoy throwing myself into a series, immersing myself into a world, getting to know the characters and their exploits. I think a big book offers me the same experience. Regarding tearing a books into smaller sections, I did wince when I read that, but then thought that if it is a crappy copy of the book, does it really matter, so long as it gets read? I am in two minds on that one. There is still an echo of that wince in my reading soul!

I hope you enjoyed a Happy Birthday, Hayley. So glad to read that you are enjoying the Septimus books. Life was a bit bleurgh for me for a week or three, so I immersed myself in a book series. Someone (I think Hayley?) had mentioned reading the last Artemis Fowl book, and enjoying it. I knew I had the first one around somewhere, so thought I'd give it a go. I finished book 8 in the series by Eoin Colfer last might. Loved them. Inventive, funny and very well developed, I grew to love the characters over the course of the books and was sad to reach the end. They were perfect reading for my mood of late.

I love Equal Rites. Read it ages ago, when I first started reading Sir Terry. I hold particular affection for Equal Rites, and Soul Music. Oh, and.......tell us your classic choice, go on.

The longest book I have read in recent years has been Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, that comes in at around 650 pages. The story compelled you to read on, so it's length ultimately didn't matter in that regard. I think the pacing of the text will decide whether it feels like it is a long read. There are always those books who feel like they sag in the middle, just using many (many) words to bridge the text between one interesting section, and another. Thinking on it, I realised that I tend to designate both a place and a time to where I read it. I am less likely to read a longer and more involved book in bed for instance. It will be during a lull in my morning, or a quiet time later in the day. I feel the need to be fully alert to the reading, rather than the slightly dulled by tiredness in bed reading.