Hayley

I finished The Shadow in the North (it was so sad!!) and started The Mad Women’s Ball by Victoria Mas. I stayed up way past my bedtime finishing it last night! It’s not a light read (some incredibly horrible things happen to the women in the story) but it’s a very good book.

It is a shame. I don’t have Facebook, but I use Twitter sometimes. I try to avoid all of the drama but it’s hard not to come away feeling annoyed. People seem determined to misunderstand each other. Also increasingly finding that really disturbing images and videos pop up in my ‘recommended’ feed 😕

Ah, that’s a shame. It must have been good though, despite the mistake, if you want to keep going with the author .

Maybe they’ll have an amazing January sale 🤞. Although I remember noticing last year that they didn’t have anywhere near the kinds of reductions they had in the past!

That sounds so lovely. I did wonder whether some of the books were lights! I would like a miniature version for my house

Hmm, I think the only part of the note that could be read as indicating the presence of more notes is this: But it would be dependent on how you read ‘this note’ (the emphasis on this would change the meaning)… there’s no reason the character would read it that way though. Maybe something was changed in the editing process that killed (no pun intended) a subtle hint? This could be possible if there’s some sort of twist later. Something the narrator knows that hasn’t been revealed to the reader yet. Madeleine would have a better idea of that than me though, I haven’t read any of this series!

Mine too and I love Wilkie Collins but not that much!

(The app, not our actual shelves. Don't worry, I haven't gone completely mad ) A little while ago we added the 'bookshelves' feature to the forum. It looks pretty and it had some use, but I don't think many people are really using them. Invision (the company who makes the forum software) have just announced that they are going to stop supporting apps like the bookcase. We will still be able to keep it, but I'd have to go through the actual developer rather than Invision as a company. So I think this is the time to decide... do we want to keep the bookshelves feature? Or is it an unnecessary part of the forum?

Welcome to the forum Jonesy! This is an intriguing mystery. Could you tell us what the first paragraph of the note does say?

It was The Moonstone! But it’s a special limited run so it’s £250 🥲 https://www.foliosociety.com/the-moonstone-limited-edition.html?utm_campaign=november-monthly-newsletter-all-customers&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=78278473&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9oYMVtaVQAbvR5tKEop3ezbkojPDHbx8AxYjKMt73YvJPTO4s47tFERL9xyBUjkojfil7PP63w6YsKh5Y9u9m9ywzQYIRigou64GJB2IhxT9CSOio&utm_content=moonstone-pod&utm_source=hs_email

It’s one of my favourite books, I hope you like it! 😄

I just looked this up and it sounds good! It has hardly any reviews, weirdly.

Things like this are always going to be scary but it will be over before you know it and you’ll feel well again, not having to deal with the pain and discomfort you’ve had to put up with. You’ll have lots of good wishes pouring in from everyone here. We’ll be looking forward to having you back and feeling good again!

I haven’t actually read any of the authors you mentioned, but I think I have an idea of what you mean. Maybe Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series? It’s set in the real world but follows a police officer who finds out there’s a secret branch for dealing with supernatural things. They fight evil forces while making sure that most people don’t know what’s really happening. Definitely suspenseful at times! One of my favourite books set in the real world but with a bit of magic is Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, which imagines there’s a whole other, more magical, London beneath the city. If you don’t mind it being historical, Oscar de Muriel’s Frey & McGray series is excellent. Quite a few members here love it. It’s set mainly in Victorian Scotland and it’s not always clear whether the cases are truly magical or not… but it’s very tense and gripping, especially in the later books

I love my tsundoku 😄 It’s nice to see so much nice and fun stuff on here. I currently have the worst cold. Luckily I’ve finished work early (not intentionally, it just worked out that way!), so I’m looking forward to curling up with my book now. I thought you’d all appreciate this too though. St Pancras station has a book tree this Christmas. Apparently there are little reading nooks underneath it, which you can sit in and it plays a Christmas story to you 😄

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!

I’d put Terry Pratchett on there too and maybe Stardust by Neil Gaiman to represent fairytale-inspired modern fantasy.