Can anyone recommend a good pair of women’s walking trousers for warm weather? I normally live in my Craghopper Kiwis and while they were okay today (18ish C) they were just too warm last weekend (23C). Not cropped, because ticks. Ideally need to come in short lengths and go up to a size 18, and available in the UK. TIA for any suggestions!
I've been looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. It wasn't quite a five star read, but a solid four star bath read. Uplifting story, lovely characters, and of course, a fantastically snarky octopus who is the best part of the whole book; I loved him.
If only we all had smart, snarky octopi to solve our problems.
A cool First Contact plot, mothers as diplomats, very "alien" aliens, lots of representation of different but equal identities and families, and a glimpse of a future where many have started to pull together to solve the problems we created.
But there was a lot of political scheming, so much dialogue, tech that made it difficult to follow all that dialogue, many neopronouns and human/alien sex. I felt exhausted by the end!
Read this in one evening; a sweet, easy binge read. It’s not great literature, it’s actually pretty trite, but it has loveable characters, a perfect bookshop on an island setting, a little mystery, a little love story and a bit of heartbreak at the end. If you’re a book lover, then you’ll enjoy this.
A bit like A Man Called Ove but with more books and less libertarianism.
Read this on the ferry crossing to Islay. Perfect little book, with not a word out of place, examining all the choices that are available to us if we let ourselves be aware of them.
Would be a lovely pre-Christmas read, which is probably when I'll go back to it.
"The people in this book might be going to have lived a long, long time from now in Northern California."
Less of a novel and more of an anthology of the lives and communities of these people, the Kesh. Virtually no plot, but a gentle, immersive read that will make you think about the human condition, where we are and where we're going.
This quote from Richard Powers at the back of my copy sums up the importance of this book better than I could in my own words.
@purplepadma@kimlockhartga I'm slowly making my way through everything Le Guin wrote - I'd say I discovered her too late but actually, I think I found her at just the right age to deeply appreciate her writing, in a way I wouldn't have when I was younger. So I'm loving the journey!
An interesting, extended metaphor in a mysterious, eerie, post-Arthurian setting. Definitely more allegorical than fantasy. Loved the themes of national identity and collective memory, and of old age, regret and enduring love.
Really struggled with the dialogue though and the middle section dragged, but the bittersweet ending made up for a lot.
Pleasant, easy read about a beautiful part of the world.
Enjoyed the anecdotal style and the authors obvious love for his home in the descriptions of the seasons and wildlife.
The strongest parts were those about his relationships with his father and grandfather, recognising both the love and the competition between them.
A bit reticent in places (I'd have loved more on Oxford and the foot and mouth crisis) but understandable for a northern bloke! I'll read his next book.
@hobbitswife Local-ish; we've lived in Glasgow for 6 years now and this is our 3rd trip to Islay. We've also done Mull once and will probably go back next year! Totally agree that May is the nicest month in Scotland, it's absolutely the time to go on holiday!
Didn't go the Ardnahoe launch - we did Ardbeg earlier in the week and going to Caol Ila tomorrow!
It might rain this afternoon, which means I need to mow a lawn this morning, which means I need to put the new lawnmower together and WHY did I become an adult? It’s all very exhausting.
Assembled the lawnmower, mowed both lawns, worked out to put it in EasiStore mode and shoved it in the shed, picked the heads of one billion dandelions before they turn into seed clocks (I don’t mind the flowers but am trying to stop the garden becoming even more overrun with them), cleaned the litter tray and I have FINALLY showered and sat down.