Hayley

Well you know one person now 😄. I loved Alice in Wonderland! I was probably heavily influenced by the Disney movie but my dad bought a hardback set of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for me when I was about seven and they were my prized possession. They felt very grown up. I did actually find them hard to read at that age but I think, because they were challenging, I felt as though I was unlocking new things from it all the time. And I think that’s part of the appeal of them as an adult too. Carroll wrote in so many clever puzzles and references to things he was interested in, it still feels like there are new things to discover! My sister did think it was ‘too weird’ as well though. Maybe I was just a weird child 😂.

We had quite a long thunderstorm yesterday evening and there are more forecast for this afternoon. It only cooled down very slightly though, so I’m still very hot 🥲.

Thunderplump is a brilliant word 😄 My weather app is telling me it will be 28C today (!) and might thunder. Not ideal on one of my busiest work days 🥲

Winter’s Gifts is out! I’m going to have to resist buying my copy for a little while (after the unexpectedly huge expense of having to buy a new laptop when mine died during the week and an upcoming trip we planned ages ago!) but I’m hoping some of you will be able to tell me if it’s a good one 😄

Ah, one of the reviews I read suggested that it was about finding love and I took that to mean it would follow one or both of them finding romantic relationships!

This one is already on my list - I can’t wait to get it! I’ve seen some rave reviews about how beautifully this is written but discovering that it centred on a love story did put me off. I don’t generally enjoy books that have romance as their central plot. Still not sure whether I want to try this one or not!

Yes to all of the above!! Also: tuna and sweetcorn or baked beans 😄

Apparently this came out in May but I only just saw it. I'm quite surprised by some of the results! Personally, I wouldn't have put Where the Wild Things Are above Alice's Adventures in Wonderland... I'm also surprised that The Cat in the Hat, Paddington and The Wind in the Willows are all down in the 60's. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book made it into the list! What do others think?

Very nice! I love baked potatoes. They are sadly underrated. For those in the UK, Morrisons have a new deal on - 20% off all fish on Friday's if you have one of their 'more' cards. We had rainbow trout yesterday and it was lovely.

I also absolutely love this book 😄. I think, like we were saying before about Terry Pratchett, the synopsis or blurb can’t do justice to the actual book. The plot sounds simple but that adventure-fantasy theme is just used to very beautifully explore the complex emotions of childhood and those we carry into adulthood. Fully agree that Gaiman has a knack of speaking to your inner-child too. Although I haven’t read Coraline and I need to! This is one of those books that I feel I should have read, but have just never gotten around to. I do like the opening line!

That is true, thanks Luna 😄. I set the new bookshelf up yesterday but realised that some of the little brackets for the shelves are missing, so I can’t put two of them on yet! I still managed to fill a couple of shelves with books I had just stacked in piles, so I’m very pleased with that. I will take pictures when I finally get it finished.

I thought I’d post a quick reading update because it is taking an insanely long time for me to get through my current read, Nicholas Nickleby! I’ve been helping an older family member to move house during May and it is finally done. Solicitor issues and a house full of many years of stuff made it physically and mentally exhausting and I’m looking forward to gradually getting back to normal now! (Gradually because my own house is still full of boxes to be sorted…). I have also been given a new bookcase though (unwanted from the old house), so I’m looking forward to setting that up!

The link below will lead you to the interactive murder mystery Roald by Amelia Hemsley. Amelia is a student who created this short story as part of her university publishing degree. It's completely free but she'd love to hear what people think about it, especially about the format and whether you think it would work for longer, more complex mysteries! I know that a lot of us enjoy a good mystery, so I'm also looking forward to hearing what you think . https://millie1515.itch.io/roald

Hi Terry, are you thinking about this topic in relation to the upcoming exams?

I’ve heard of pancakes with bacon but I don’t think I’ve ever seen pancakes with sausages! I do actually like sausages more than bacon though, so this could be a revelation for me 😄. I tried beetroot with goat’s cheese for the first time a couple of days ago (my boyfriend made us a fancy starter - it’s roasted beetroot with goat cheese and toasted walnuts!). It is a really lovely combination!

I think yesterday was the first properly warm day of the year! I still have lots in my garden, I love them.

Fragile Things, the short story collection by Neil Gaiman, is 99p on kindle at the moment! Another one I’d highly recommend if you like things with a bit of a weird twist 😄.

I’m really enjoying Nicholas Nickleby so far. I’m only a few chapters in but I already have strong feelings about these characters…

I do think it would work well on kindle. I would imagine that one or two things might be split over two pages for the kindle version but it shouldn’t matter. I was really unsure whether I’d particularly like this book (I got it in a really good sale so decided it was worth the risk!) but I was pleasantly surprised!

I'm not sure I like the sound of fermented soy so please let us know what it's like if you do try it

The Appeal by Janice Hallett 4/5 - I really liked it This book was different to anything I've read before. It is a murder mystery but told entirely through emails, texts and a few pieces of evidence (like advertisements and post-it notes). Almost everyone who's part of the correspondence is a suspect and you have to try to work out 'whodunnit' from the evidence you have. It is slightly guided by what seems like a whatsapp conversation between two characters who are also trying to work out who did it. To begin with, I was a bit worried that it would be hard to get into the story and would actually feel like reading a selection of documents rather than a story. That quickly goes away though and as you get to know the characters, you become more invested in finding out what their motives are and what their next moves will be. The more pieces are added, the more the stories start to weave together too. There are a lot of twists and turns, some of which I predicted and others which really surprised me. I didn't work out who did it before the reveal at the end - although I do think it's possible to have worked it out in hindsight! Very clever and intriguing. I would recommend it if you're in the mood for something a bit different! If anybody else has read this please let me know as well because I'm dying to talk about one of the characters 😂. Now reading Nicholas Nickleby for the reading group challenge!

I've never read this one before but I really like it!

I really loved Fahrenheit 451. I can see what Kev means about it feeling a bit dated. Nobody would believe it was written in the last decade, but that didn't really matter to me. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is on my to-read list. It's one of those books I've kept putting off because I just know it's going to make me sad! Gad you enjoyed Wyrd Sisters too! I always find it really hard to describe Terry Pratchett books to other people. It's not really the plot that makes them so great, it's the way he writes them, isn't it!?

The old Heinz tomato soup does actually have cream in it, so I guess the plant-based one will substitute the cream for something else - making it suitable for vegans as well as vegetarians. [Ok, as I was writing this I got curious and looked it up - the plant-based one uses fermented soy instead of cream!]

Ode, Composed on a May Morning by William Wordsworth While from the purpling east departs The star that led the dawn, Blithe Flora from her couch upstarts, For May is on the lawn. A quickening hope, a freshening glee, Foreran the expected Power, Whose first-drawn breath, from bush and tree, Shakes off that pearly shower. All Nature welcomes Her whose sway Tempers the year's extremes; Who scattereth lustres o'er noon-day, Like morning's dewy gleams; While mellow warble, sprightly trill, The tremulous heart excite; And hums the balmy air to still The balance of delight. Time was, blest Power! when youth and maids At peep of dawn would rise, And wander forth, in forest glades Thy birth to solemnize. Though mute the song---to grace the rite Untouched the hawthorn bough, Thy Spirit triumphs o'er the slight; Man changes, but not Thou! Thy feathered Lieges bill and wings In love's disport employ; Warmed by thy influence, creeping things Awake to silent joy: Queen art thou still for each gay plant Where the slim wild deer roves; And served in depths where fishes haunt Their own mysterious groves. Cloud-piercing peak, and trackless heath, Instinctive homage pay; Nor wants the dim-lit cave a wreath To honor thee, sweet May! Where cities fanned by thy brisk airs Behold a smokeless sky, Their puniest flower-pot-nursling dares To open a bright eye. And if, on this thy natal morn, The pole, from which thy name Hath not departed, stands forlorn Of song and dance and game; Still from the village-green a vow Aspires to thee addrest, Wherever peace is on the brow, Or love within the breast. Yes! where Love nestles thou canst teach The soul to love the more; Hearts also shall thy lessons reach That never loved before. Stript is the haughty one of pride, The bashful freed from fear, While rising, like the ocean-tide, In flow the joyous year. Hush, feeble lyre! weak words refuse The service to prolong! To yon exulting thrush the Muse Entrusts the imperfect song; His voice shall chant, in accents clear, Throughout the live-long day, Till the first silver star appear, The sovereignty of May.