Sending the article before the meeting sounds like a great idea.

I loved it, but decided a "palate cleanser" was in order, so I started reading Three Men in a Boat! Chilean noir looks like something I would enjoy. I have now investigated my library options and think I need to give this a few months. Since the translation appears to be recent I can’t even seem to do an overdrive recommendation on it even though it is on Kindle. I have also investigated 28 Days Later and suspect that the movie is more horror than I can handle visually. That being said it has a Doctor Who in it. I really liked Eccleston as the Doctor......I know I am a minority in that.

The Day of the Triffids is my planned selection for Isle of Wight too. :). I was really excited when doing the Brit Trip idea list because that book kept appearing. Your mention of it was a good reminder to put it on hold. My kids loved A Series of Unfortunate Events when the books first came out. They used to argue about who got to read the new one first! I think trying the recipes is a great way to review a cookbook! You meal sounds tasty and the food descriptions in that series are mouth watering. Like you I am frequently hindered by my ingredient selection in part because I hate to buy an unusual item when the recipe calls for a very small amount of that item. If we don’t like the recipe I feel like I wasted my money.

Robin, Thanks for all of the red shoe bingo ideas. I still need to complete that square so plan to make use of your links! Last week was my week to tackle the new to me mystery authors with Medieval settings in my stack. I ended up abandoning my Sister Fidelma mystery (Absolution for Murder by Peter Tremayne) because it was a hard to read because period language was intermixed. I had been really looking forward to the setting of Whitby so was sad to give up on it. In the author’s notes section of one of the Ariana Franklin books that I have been listening to she discusses the fact that she is often criticized for using modern language in her historical settings. I liked her response to her critics.......in the 12th century her characters were speaking using modern languages so she uses the modern language of her readers to tell her stories. Not saying a bit for atmosphere can’t be used but that book had so much it couldn’t be a book to fall asleep to which is what I try to keep on my kindle. My other medieval read is called Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark which I am enjoying. This one is set in the fourteenth century in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It uses many of the old names for places so I am still googling in order to figure out where she is physically in the story mainly because we have visited many Abbey ruins in this area. But the story is relatively easy to follow. The main character is a wealthy widow whose husband died in the war with France. She has decided to use her weath to set herself up as Abbess of a small congregation of like minded sisters and minister to the poor. One of her main goals is literacy so I like her. This first book is about her search for a location for her Abbey with the political turmoil (and murders) in the background. She is pulled in to helping solve the murders by her husband’s friends who have a high regard for her. I will probably continue to read this series. I am hoping that the CS Harris books that I have on hold will appear soon. I am now second on the list for for herreally latest in the series, Why Kill the Innocent, and really do not want to have to suspend it because I haven’t finished my reread. Until my books arrive I plan to keep reading my stack which includes an Anne Cleeves In her Vera series for Northumbria.

I am posting because we are on the way out the door for church and I am not sure that I will find your post later. Quick advice is talk to the pastor face to face or their spouse. Small church so right to the top. They need to know you need help.

The pup is adorable! Glad you are done with the first phase of your treatment.

That is a series that I read a couple of many years ago. I don’t honestly remember anything other than they were a favorite of my Bf’s mom. She also liked the Mitford series by Jan Karon which would qualify as cozy also, I think. I preferred Mitford but that’s all I remember......you are totally forgiven for not liking mysteries. ;) I did notice your Miss Read selection on Goodreads and thought to myself that I probably need to try those again.

Not too bad. I am going to add it to my holds list. Thanks!

Just in case you check in ........Wishing you a trouble free move. I hope you love your new house! I also hope they install your internet quickly. We will miss you! I am looking forward to hearing what you think. FWIW because of my reread I now know the first two books are almost prequels to the real story. Dd, who loves these also but is 19 not 13, asked the other day if a certain incident had happened in my reread yet. We think it’s in the Mermaid (this thread is tying together nicely lol) one. Which is my next book. That’s when the story starts........ I quit reading Louise Penny after the first two for a few years. I came back to them because of a comment here and fell in love with them. At some point I plan to reread. I am sure I missed a great deal because of my break;). Patricia Briggs will need to be the massive reread of the whole world not just Alpha and Omega. I think you have done the whole. I am going to need to find the list. Maybe before the next release........Agatha Christie currently has my attention. Almost done with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd! I doubt that even a linked dictionary would help me! :). Any news on the exam?

I just put The Last Wolf on hold. There are two patrons ahead of me on overdrive so it is apparently popular. I also released my suspension on the new Patricia Briggs. I don’t have it yet but there are multiple copies and I am next. I had it waiting because I was trying to decide if a reread was required! ;). I am sticking with my CS Harris reread even though I have to wait for the next book. Btw, have I already convinced you to read the St, Cyr series. After reading the Anne Cleeland books I really think you would enjoy them. The main character has flaws.....not as significant ones but serious flaws. Historical I am about to sound whiny but the audiobook for this is long, right? I can’t seem to tell without checking it out and I can’t because someone already has it. I am hunting for my ancient civilization Bingo square and this has potential. I am not sure that Amelia Peabody really qualifies. The Ancient Civilization square is in the bonus mystery section but I think we don’t have to read mysteries. I need to start working on the Bingo card again!

Waving to Nan and Stella......glad you stopped by! :) I just finished Lake Silence by Anne Bishop. It's wonderful!!! I came as close as possible to reading it in one sitting and still do things like sleep for a while at night and ride around with ds so he gets some driving experience. I didn't expect to like it because I love the Lakeside portion of the series but after I got through the first dozen pages (3 trys lol). I couldn't put it down! he I am also skipping Tyne and Wear for now. Nothing appeals. I am hoping to bump into it as I read books set in Northumbria but if not it's time for a wild card. The Vera series is one of my goals for Brit Tripping. The second one finally became available on Overdrive. Yeah! I also finished Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil. The setting was one small part of the border country in Northumbria. I did enjoy the descriptions of the moors there. Really steep inclines from personal experience on narrow roads. We had quite an exciting time following local friends to a pub lunch there. They drove really fast, probably 60, over continuous rolling hills. We kept losing sight of them because they were several bumps ahead and no Sat Nav reception.

Lol, Now I wonder if she was teasing me.....I told her about Amy shopping for Muskrat and how expensive it is (actually the fact you can buy it is pretty amazing). They have reintroduced them in Scotland for sure. One of the wildlife organizations sponsors walks in the summer to see them. We keep saying we will sign up and go but haven’t managed to yet.

Back to the muskrats............Per dd this is why beavers are extinct in England. Fishy creatures.

I greatly prefer reading on my Kindle and IPad to paper books. Like Kathy I am generally reading with the WiFi off. My Kindle reader can easily be thrown in a bag and I can happily skip between a huge stack of books while out with no added weight! I have recently switched to the iPad at night because the print is larger and the lighting a bit kinder to dh. The other added benefit is while falling asleep I tended to turn pages on the kindle fire by accident on the iPad I seem to only highlight. Numerous highlights do not effect my place in my books so no real bother! I do wonder what someone reading my highlights will think! My hands are a big reason for giving up on paper books. When I read them now I tend to sit with the book on my lap or table for hardcovers which means I actually need to plan my time around being in a place I can read comfortably if I want to tackle a hardcover book. Like Mothersweets my ideal size is probably the 5 x 8 paperback. Light enough to read laying down but large enough to normally have proper sized print. They also tend to stay open without spine cracking. I love the ease of small paperbacks and recently read one with full sized print and seriously thought about how much I was enjoying that book experience while reading. Small paperbacks are the best but frequently are bound tighter so the need for spine cracking which I hate. I currently have a huge stack of physical books from the library because of Brit Tripping. I am enjoying them but actually have a bit of a schedule to hopefully finish before they are due.....ummm, run out of renewal options is more honest. Wink

Muskrats? Totally missed that one and never would have guesssed.? I just started to listen to Christie’s The Murder of Rodger Ackroyd and googled a place name which was fictional but found this article. http://www.poirot.us/world.php When I have a chance I will explore more from that blog, looks fascinating!

Thanks Kathy and Amy.....My dot now works! It didn't at first and I gave up. Lol I have to add the Mermaid Poem is so sad....What if they aren't mythical. What if that silly law just forced them away?????? Just want to say I hate autocorrect.

I haven't read the latest in the Disrupted Magic series yet but am looking forward to it. I prefer Scarlett to Lex in general although my Goodreads rating would indicate that I like them equally. I have not tried the other series yet. I totally agree with the in order recommendation. I also want to add that I have read most of these for free thanks to Prime. ;) AccidentalCoach, Glad to hear your dh is home! Has anyone been able to skip to the latest post on any thread? I used to love it when we got to the second page of posts.

The long political season and the signage. The willingness to air your personal vote in public. Generally in the UK people have no idea how their friends and neighbors are voting. Brexit was the first time we ever saw more than a handful of signs and knew how our neighbors were voting. People even had T-shirts. American football receives many questions and comments. Thanksgiving is an obvious one. Considering I sing God Save the Queen at most meetings I attend the pledge/anthem aren’t so unique. We pray for the Queen as a standard prayer in the C of E service too. Fourth of July BBQ’s really are the best and we have thrown a few. People sometimes think they need cowboy boots and a stetson to attend. We have never lived in a western state so they weren’t making a special effort to please my family. Some really think that’s how all Americans dress. The one thing that really sticks out every time we return o the US is the brightness. The signage along the roads. The 24 hour culture. We joke that at 6pm the sidewalks get rolled up in our English village a few people taking walks is it. The pawn and gun shops with loads of signs get the kids talking every time. A funny kid comment years ago regarding Body Shops....they decided they were cheap plastic surgery, tattoos and piercings, or massage parlors. Could not figure out which and more confusing was why they were all over the place. They were astounded to learn car repairs.

ErinE, Robin, and anyone else reading the Incrytid series by Seanan McGuire in the back of the kindle edition of Tricks for Hire there is a novella that should be read before the rest of the book. I wish I had known that! ;). The story of the youngest Price daughter confined and I really enjoyed it! Because she is in hiding she takes a job with a fake Disneyworld called Landryland located in Lakeland Florida. The two parks have an intense competition but Landryland has something extra apparently because the place is filled with magic of the real variety. Witches and lots of cryptic in hiding. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23244609-tricks-for-free I also finished Grace Burrowes latest Historical romance, A Tongue of Her Own. No clue to the setting beyond Welsh border. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35723631-a-rogue-of-her-own Finally finished my audiobook which was my last book by Ariana Franklin, Grave Goods. There is one more in the Mistress of the Art of Death series written by her daughter which I will eventually read. This one was good fun if you enjoy the legend of King Arthur. A fire at Glastonbury Cathedral disturbed a grave which the Cathedral is claiming belongs to Arthur and Guinevere. Henry 2 sends in his experts to determine it the skeletons really are the remains of the legendary King. This series has been a job to listen to. I have to admit my hesitation to continue with the daughter as author is there is some resolution to the greater storyline at the end of this book. I like what happened and hate to see it disturbed! Lol. Cambridge, Buckinghamshire, and Somerset https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6407662-grave-goods

I remember you too! Sending healing vibes and prayers for the 12%.

I thought the new Jumanji was great too! I really think I have only read one Inspector Lynley, the first. It was OK but part of my lack of enthusiasm was I was expecting a gentle cosy mystery and it was not gentle. I think I am ready to try another.....I actually went through the list last night hunting for a Durham setting. No luck. What do you think, just start where I left off or skip ahead a few? I have watched and enjoyed several of the TV episodes. Fingers crossed on the French exam. ? Medieval settings are a bit hit or miss for me also. I have two on my Kindle that are new to me authors which I hope to try this week. Absolution of Murder by Peter Tremayne which is set in Whitby and Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clarke which is set in York. I have given up on Hangman Blind in the past. It’s popular in gift shops around York and I think I bought it and passed in on years ago unread.

Amy, I love my instant pot but I use it for rice, potatoes, and beans mainly. I have read most of the IP cookbooks and I think you probably could steam the sponge in it but no personal experience. This is being said by the person who watches her friend steam lovely sponges but has never tried it. Personally I would go with a sticky toffee pudding. Lots of variations and you don’t have to steam. I found an easy recipe that doesn’t need Golden Syrup from Nigella. Sticky Toffee pudding is wonderful! https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/easy-sticky-toffee-dessert-recipe-2203727

My parents definitely wanted me to have a trade or degree so I could be self supporting. I heard the story of my grandmother being widowed with 4 kids and no way to support herself all the time! That being said I could have chosen pretty much anything after getting a high school diploma and they would have been supportive. That being said my mom really wanted me to have a degree. I was the first in my family to receive a BA which was a HUGE accomplishment in her eyes. Any pushing for top grades came from me totally. ;) My dad did step in and help choose my college because he did actually research them and gave me a choice of two that he was comfortable with. Please note he paid the bills. He also wanted me to combine my majors and graduate with several accounting classes (so I could support myself and not be like my grandmother).

Since at least a few of my fellow BaWer’s share my love for reading books set in Tudor England I am sharing an article about a little know historical figure who keeps appearing in my stack. I don’t really remember knowing much about her beyond her existence until my latest trip through the Tudors. She seems to be a character in everything I pick up to read lately! https://www.spectator.co.uk/2010/04/a-tudor-mystery-unravels/ For those of you who don’t want to click I am talking about Lady Mary Grey, the youngest sister of Jane, who was crookbacked and basically ignored. Part of Elizabeth 1’s court and tolerated but not liked. Here is the interesting forgotten bit she was technically next in line. Her children if she had been allowed to marry would have been heirs to the throne.

We flew international recently and there was a sign regarding needing to tell the check in person if someone in your party had thrown up recently. I had never noticed it before and assumed it was due to flu season. So I asked what the policy was it someone had been throwing up. Basically it was they don't fly. So a travel insurance claim. No guarantee of anything from the airline(s), we were on a codeshare. They also said that people throw up at the counter really frequently! Yuck!