Peacefield

"Then there was curare. It, too, had an almost instant effect and again, the victim died within minutes by asphyxiation. But curare could not kill by ingestion; to be fatal - it had to be injected." The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

"It was as black in the closet as old blood." The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

I only got up to page 70 of Sweetness last night, but am continuing to love it . Hopefully I'll get another chunk in tonight before falling asleep. I also found out that there are 2 library book sales going on this Saturday, both within about 10 miles of eachother so I'm going to try and hit both .

Thanks again for getting me on The Heretic's Daughter train, Charm! I'm glad I read it too - it was definitely one of the most interesting reads I've had in awhile .

I just started this one too, Whitegold, and I'm loving it! I'm finding myself laughing out loud quite often and will definitely be looking to continue the series as well.

Quinn you're a cutie!

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent Synopsis via Waterstones: Martha Carrier was hanged on August 19th, 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, unyielding in her refusal to admit to being a witch, going to her death rather than joining the ranks of men and women who confessed and were thereby spared execution. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and wilful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. In this startling novel, she narrates the story of her early life in Andover, near Salem. Her father is a farmer, English in origin, quietly stoical but with a secret history. Her mother is a herbalist, tough but loving, and above all a good mother. Often at odds with each other, Sarah and her mother have a close but also cold relationship, yet it is clear that Martha understands her daughter like no other. When Martha is accused of witchcraft, and the whisperings in the community escalate, she makes her daughter promise not to stand up for her if the case is taken to court. As Sarah and her brothers are hauled into the prison themselves, the vicious cruelty of the trials is apparent, as the Carrier family, along with other innocents, are starved and deprived of any decency, battling their way through the hysteria with the sheer willpower their mother has taught them. Yet another fascinating and excellent read about the painful subject of the Salem witch trails, Kathleen Kent seemed to capture perfectly the life and times of a family trying to survive not only the elements but the ignorance of their fellow townspeople. I loved reading about Sarah's relationship with her mother, and how at the end her understanding and relationship with her completely changed. It was interesting how these two characters were almost at odds with one another throughout the story, but because of the trials her mother had to go through, Sarah learned just how strong, independent and smart her mother really was. As always, part of me gets really upset at the ignorance of the people who lived during that time, and how a lot of things seemed to be based on superstition. If they didn't understand why something was happening, they blamed it on something evil and took the worst possible action towards the accused. It was sad to see families broken up because of something that just wasn't understood. Despite all that though I loved the way Kent weaved this story and am SO glad this book was recommended to me . On a side note, I was surprised to see a mention of a possible relative of mine, Nathaniel Ames. I have several Ames (Eames) that lived in Andover and Boxford, MA during the 16 and 1700's, so it's worth some research!

Lately I've been using the baseball ticket that I got when I went to the game last month .

Awwww, wonderful, Kylie! I can't wait for you to get one . I can't imagine my life without a cat in it.

Welcome to BCF, Matthew! Glad you joined us . Can I ask what music you like? Do you play an instrument yourself?

Couple slices of this really tasty mushroom flatbread I picked up from TJ's the other day .

I finished The Heretic's Daughter this morning . Loved every page, and am so glad I finally got to read it! I was surprised near the end to see the name Nathaniel Ames mentioned, and will have to do some research to see if he's related to my Rebecca Blake Eames (later changed to Ames) who was involved in the witch trials as well. Tonight I plan on starting The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.

Last night's episode of 'The Gates' .

Hey there and welcome to BCF, Wendy aka Woo! Glad you joined us .

And you were exactly right, Noll! It was fun to laugh at though, I'll give you that. As for the Cera movie, I might check it out because I do love mockumentaries. Obviously it doesn't sound as good as Christopher Guest's films, but yeah, if I'm bored and find someone to borrow it from I'll watch it . Frankie, I'm sorry you had to watch such a dismal Cusack film! I can't remember, have you seen Grosse Pointe Blank? Or is that one of those films that I've already told you that you HAVE to see?! Man, I haven't heard the name Dermot Mulroney in awhile! I don't think I've seen very many of his films - was he the guy in 'My Best Friend's Wedding?' We had fun laughing at The Ruins, so at least that was the highlight of my night .

I was going to say that I plan on watching 'The Gates' tonight, but then realize that today is Monday, not Sunday, so I've missed it! Maybe I can find it online...

I promise, Frankie!! I'll just drive through a canyon of giant mountains of books, kind of like that scene in Star Wars... Last night I came home with the next 2 Sookie books, so have added them to my TBR shelf and list here on BCF. My friend was also telling me about this book called 'The Neighbor' or Neighbors (something like that) where this woman moves from the US to London and has something freaky happen in the neighborhood she moves to. I guess it's a murder mystery, so I'm going to have a look-see and see if it's up my alley!

That's my next book, Whitegold! I'll be finishing The Heretic's Daughter later today and will start the Bradley after that. I'm hoping too that I like it because I know there's a second one in the series that just came out this year.

WOOOOO Kylie! I'm so excited for you!! Season two starts here on the 9 Sept, so just a few days away, YES! Although, can I take a moment here to rant about something? I watch 3 shows religiously, and guess what, they are all on Thursday nights at the same time! At least Vampire Diaries starts earlier than the others, so I'll have at least 2 weeks where it won't compete with other shows. But once the 23rd comes around, I'll be in trouble. Maybe this is just a sign that I watch too much TV... And I don't even have cable!

I loved hearing new versions too, Kylie! I've only seen the first 2 seasons, but that was a very clever idea to have different singers do the opening song. Keeps it very fresh! I really need to see the rest of the seasons. I'm glad to hear the show's still on though! Poor Roy! His big huge pile of dirt, fencing and just all around junk from their yard - and then he goes and builds the thing inside the house! No wonder his wife got so upset. Right now I've got political talk radio on, although it's a holiday so I'm listening to a guest host and I should probably switch stations. Hard to deviate from a routine on a weekday morning though!

We watched 'The Ruins' tonight and man oh man was it bad. While the special efx were actually pretty good, they deviated so much from the material of the book, leaving whole characters out and having different things happen to different characters, it was just too hard to watch. Oh well, at least we had a good laugh!

When you're with a group of friends watching a movie, and one or several of them feel the need to constantly check their phone for texts, or send a text themselves, or find an excuse to look something up on the internet. Do people not realize how rude it is? Can you leave your phone in your bag for 2 hours and devote your attention to just having fun with your friends? Ugh, I just can't get over the inconsiderate-ness of it.

I met with a bunch of friends to watch a film tonight and one of them brought the next 2 Sookie books for me! So, Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail are now added to my TBR shelf. My friend told me the fourth book, which I'm due to read next, is her fave, so hopefully I'll like it too . I'm also only about 50 pages short of finishing The Heretic's Daughter, which I read quite a bit of this morning whilst lounging in bed. It even had me in tears . I love these Salem witch trial books, but part of me just gets so mad when I read them...

Close Encounters has ended so I've got the baseball game on. It's almost over though but at least we'll win! After that I'm heading to a friend's to watch The Ruins.

Oooh you haven't read this one yet, Chesil??!! I thought for sure you had. I'm excited for you! Please let us know what you think - but some advice? You better love it!