Hayley

I’m so glad to hear that you’re home and managing to get some rest!

I loved the movie of this and now you’ve reminded me that I want to read the book!

I tried pumpkin pie for the first time yesterday and I love it!

I’ve read a few books featuring witches. Are you looking for something more spooky, funny, cosy? Is YA of interest? Maybe something like Witch Child by Celia Rees?

Relatable 😂. I hope you manage to get some quiet time soon!

Yes it did, I think that was the issue. The texture of the potatoes alongside the aubergine was just odd! The anti waste box sounds great!

When Michelle passed the forum over to me there were a few things she asked me to do, and one of them was to keep her on the staff list. So she’ll always be on there 😄

I love chilli too, it’s such a good comfort food. I had chicken with mashed potato, green beans and gravy . Yesterday I discovered that I don’t really like moussaka made with potatoes!

I hope you’re still enjoying this Virginia! My copy arrived since my last post and I realised it’s longer than I thought it was!

Finished The Ruby in the Smoke! I think I’ve mentioned somewhere here before that I read the third book in this series (The Tiger in the Well) when I was much younger, with no idea that it was part of a series. So now I finally know how it all starts! I might go straight to the second in the series now, The Shadow in the North.

I’d like it to be The Moonstone by Willie Collins, which does have a scene just like the one in the picture and is Victorian and gothic. I think it might be Five Red Herrings by a Dorothy Sayers from the written clue though... unless the clue is a red herring… 🤔 😄

A puzzle from Folio Society: what do we think this new book is going to be? The image was posted to their Twitter with the message ‘Discard a shoal of red herrings to discover Folio’s next brilliant limited edition! Set your alarms for 2pm 2 November to reveal all...’

I really liked it but I think it probably is the slowest Dickens book I’ve read, despite it being one of the shortest!

The Odessa File by Forsyth was the first spy novel I read and it does have that fast-paced action of a thriller. So I second this 😄

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. As others have said above, we’ll all be thinking about you. Keep us updated when you can ❤️

Finished The Fascination! It’s very aptly named - it really is fascinating. It’s also a lot darker than I expected it to be! A very good book. I will post a full review soon. I think I’ll choose something a little lighter for my next read though. Maybe The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman.

Oh that’s annoying . At least they can’t do it to anybody else! I think you have a good point about only buying things that are low price.

You’re definitely not, think we’re supposed to feel confused because it’s a very confusing situation for Peter. The last book kind of made Lesley make a bit more sense to me but hopefully we can talk about that when you get to it 😄

I finished Treasure Island (and really enjoyed it - it got me thinking about how many adaptations there have been of Treasure Island and how it’s interesting to note which things get changed or left out). I decided to start The Fascination by Essie Fox as my next one. It seems very promising so far! It’s (at least partly) about Victorian fairgrounds and ‘freak shows’, which I find really interesting.

Have you tried AbeBooks?

Oh wow, that was a good find! This has really been the thing that made me reluctant to try Vinted. It seems as though it would be quite easy for a seller to misrepresent something and I believe it’s just up to the individual if they accept returns? Although the site seems popular enough that it can’t be a huge issue.

Thought inspired by @France: how does everyone feel about the simple life idea and clothing? A lot of clothes just aren’t made to last now. @France mentioned using Vinted in another thread (I’ve never actually tried that one myself but I’ve heard others say it’s very good). A while ago I saw an article that mentioned a new website (called ‘everything5pounds’) which would aim to reduce fast fashion waste by selling old stock at very reduced prices. I did give them a try, buying a jumper for £3 and a dress for £2.50. It still seems silly that there’s so much waste to begin with, but at least those things won’t end up in landfill.

That is very true. There are many hours of joy from just a couple of books That is so lovely of you. You all help me not to be sad by being here and talking about books with me 😄❤️ Another good point. I very rarely spend money on anything but books. Speaking of Vinted has just given me a thought for another thread…

Well I told myself I wasn’t going to buy any more books this year (we’re supposed to be saving money ahead of Christmas and a planned trip in the new year) but one of my favourite indie’s posted about having a bad day (as two people had cancelled orders, putting them at minus profit) which made me sad. And I was already sad, so I decided to buy books to help both situations… so, for the group read, I got: The Tumbling Girl by Bridget Walsh and The Turnglass by Gareth Rubin. The latter especially was a book I really wanted as soon as I saw it being announced! My sister also surprised me with a book that will fit the challenge (and which I’ve had on my wish list for ages!) - The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas. As a lot of you know, I’m very into Victorian things, so I do tend to buy any books I see in charity shops that have Victorian settings. Which leads me to this confession… these are the books I took from my shelf that would fit the challenge. They don’t include my ‘for work’ books (I keep them on a different shelf), so there aren’t many actual Victorian novels. It did make me feel quite guilty for buying more 🙈.

I’ve heard that chilled pea soup is nice for hot weather but I’ve never actually tried it! I have had vegetable soup this year but it was from a can… if that counts 😄.