Nollaig

I'm reading a book called Seed by Lisa Heathfield. It's actually pretty good. Edit: Whoops, July thread!

Had a great day Friday, shopping, cinema to see Inside Out (okay but not great), pizza and then an amazing trip to see Singing in the Rain in the Opera House. Went out last night with a friend for a couple drinks, wound up spending two hours with her parents which, as I'm not 12, wasn't very fun. And I was meant to be going to a small wildlife park tomorrow, but my friend doesn't really want to go and it's meant to be showery anyway. So all in all my fun weekend has boiled down to a good Friday and not much else. Oh well

Tis only a regular chicken sandwich lol the chicken just happens to be off a whole chicken rather than deli-style chunks from a packet! There's also cake for later

It's 2:30 in the afternoon here and it was leftovers from Friday's dinner

Chicken and stuffing sammich from a proper stuffed bird

Well done Claire!

Hello all! Sorry for the delay in posting here, I'm on a weekend away in Kerry at the moment! I'm going to move all the photos into a post at the start of the thread so it's easier to see and compare the photos. If everyone who entered could send me a pm with the entry of their choice to win, (can't choose your own, sorry! ) that would be great. When I have all the votes, I'll announce the first and second place winners. Good luck!

Fortunately I'm off to have a lovely weekend, and will only have a day or two of waiting for my assuredly awesome present when I get back! Is it Winnie The Pooh related? I'm trying to think of things I know you know I like!

You're so cruel!!!!!!! Not telling me is one thing, torturing me is another!

I just ate the jelly cola bottles that came with a t-shirt I ordered!

7th - 9th I believe. Which works for me, as I'm not gonna be getting any reading done this weekend!

Oh it's been quite a while since I posted here! Books news: Posted two new reviews (see above this post) - Longbourn by Jo Baker and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. I also read about a third of a YA supernatural novel called Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride, but I couldn't read any further - despite a promising start it veered off track and I lost interest. (Poor grammatical use of Irish didn't help.) So that's my second 'Did Not Finish' book of the year! I'm currently reading Doll Bones by Holly Black, which so far I am absolutely loving!

The Name of the Star - Maureen Johnson Synopsis: Jack the Ripper is back, and he's coming for Rory next.... Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school just as a series of brutal murders mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper killing spree of more than a century ago has broken out across the city. The police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man believed to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him - the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target...unless she can tap her previously unknown abilities to turn the tables. *** Review: It's taken me a lot time to get around to reading anything by the Secret Sister of the Vlogbrothers, and for the first third of so of the novel I was absolutely not disappointed. Johnson is well able to write, and quite a few nuggets of humour (e.g. the Singing Kidney) were reminiscent of the kind of whimsical, ridiculous humor John Green tends to employ in his own writing. The Jack the Ripper legend is one that has morbidly fascinated me for years, so i was excited to tuck into this story about him. I loved Rory from the outset, I found Alastair more intriguing than I really had any reason to, and I really Jazza and Jerome too. The boarding school setting was interesting, and it was really fun to read about London from a foreigner's perspective (yes, I'm technically foreign, but I'm so exposed to British culture on tv/internet that it's not nearly as foreign to me as it would be to an American!) About a third of the way in, the book kicks into gear and for the most part, changes the primary cast of the novel to a set of characters I ultimately did not like nearly as much as the original set, which dampened my enjoyment of the story quite a lot. I particularly did not like Boo... I can't explain why, but the initial dislike that is deliberately set up to give way to a more likeable character just never quite wore off for me! I felt the others were a little flat, and as such I really only kept reading to see how things would turn out. The plot was pretty decent, although I wasn't overly excited by the resolution. The standard of writing continued throughout, though, so it remained easy to read and I had no problem finishing it despite my issues with it. All in all, I like Maureen Johnson as a writer, I'm just not sure this specific series of books/characters is for me. Will definitely pick up others by her, though.

Longbourn - Jo Baker Synopsis: If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah often thought, she’d most likely be a sight more careful with them. In this irresistibly imagined belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice, the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended. *** Review: What an absolute pleasure this novel was to read. The primary joy of Longbourn is the manner in which it is written - such beautiful pose and immersive descriptions of life and locales in 1880s England. While I adore Pride & Prejudice, it has been a few years since my last reading of it and as such I very much took Longbourn as a story in and of itself, independent of its predecessor. I am pleased to say it stands alone perfectly, but also maps precisely onto the events of Pride & Prejudice for the benefit of more attentive fans than I. In every way, Longbourn serves as a fitting tribute and additional layer to the world of the classic novel. The more dense prose is, the longer it takes me to read, so I spent a good week or so meandering my way through Longbourn. It is definitely not a book to be hurried.The characters are wonderful, both the ones who are mentioned in P&P but expanded upon here, as well as the entirely new characters. There are many reflections of the themes and mannerisms from the original novel illustrated in the surprisingly eventful lives of the gang below stairs, and at least one of the larger overarching themes is a massive twist on the characters of the original novel. Despite the magnitude of it, Baker pulls it off very well and, as is seemingly her style, with fantastic realism and credibility. Jane Austen had the advantage of living far closer to the time about which she wrote, and honestly the success Baker has in recapturing that time is phenomenal. When the setting shifted dramatically at one point, I did feel a little disconcerted and I'm still not entirely sure if it really fit into this novel, but I can't fault the writing as I felt as wholly immersed in it as I had in the rest of the book up to (and after) that point. It certainly cemented Baker as an author from whom I will be seeking more reading material! If you're a fan of the original P&P, I honestly think reading Longbourn can only enhance your enjoyment of it. Fanastic novel. Rating: 5/5

Started reading Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride but I think I'm gonna give up on it about a third of the way in. It started out great, but... meh. It's not what I expected, I don't care about a lot of the characters, and her use of Irish is annoying me because the spellings are wrong and honestly I know 'Taoiseach' literally means chief, but it's what we call our Prime Minister so unless your werewolf pack is run by a Prime Minister, it sounds weird to an Irish person. Might try Holly Black's Doll Bones, short, I and know I like her writing.

Which Winnie The Pooh films? The modern ones or the straight-up adaptations of the books from the 60s or 70s, whenever they were made? Also, I think the original film 'Winnie The Pooh's Most Grand Adventure' is actually a great little film, it's so dark! I love dark animated films. It never did as well as other Pooh films because it was that much scarier than others.

I didn't even know Chitty was a book, let alone by a particular author!

Kitteh! *Grabs and squishes* Look at those eyes!!

The new bookcase looks lovely!

Welcome to the forum!

Alternating between sunny and rainy, as usual. I dunno how cold it is, my fingers are cold as I type this but when I went outside yesterday in similar weather it was roasting.

Finished The Door That Led To Where by Sally Gardner. Meh. She's able to write but the story was convoluted and largely underwhelming. I've heard it's not the best of her work though, and her writing would lead me to try others by her. Not sure what's up next, but I'd love to pack another book in before Friday as that'll be 13 books read this month, a monthly record for the year so far!

Yo people, three days to go! Anyone left thinking of entering better get their butts in gear and snap a picture! Why aaaaanyone would pass up a chance for £20 free book spending money is beyond me but there you go!

Cloudy, but dry, so I'm happy!