Reading as a cheap hobby

carolbee

Savvy_Sue said:

MrsStepford said:

I was spluttering coffee at your remark @Savvy_Sue 😯 The redeeming feature of Ladybird books, was the artwork. Oxfam Wallingford salvaged illustrations from damaged Ladybird books and mounted them. I snapped up eleven or twelve farming ones from the 1960s and put them in glass frames. They are positioned above our main stairs and I think they look pretty good.

Just to be clear, it was not Ladybird Books per se which traumatised me: there are some wonderful titles, and the illustrations excellent too. It was the combination of Peter and Jane's very circumscribed lives and those awful awful Janet and John books which nearly killed my love of reading before it started. 

And forgive me if it's already been mentioned (I am resisting reading the whole thread at once), but there is currently an exhibition in Bath until 14th April: 

The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Book Artists

I am reminding DH at regular intervals that we MUST go! 

DS2 taught himself to read from the cereal packets on the breakfast table. Lost in the fog of PND, older 'difficult' child and demanding baby, I hadn't even realised he was so desperate to learn. And of course he was quickly of the opinion that anything his older brother could read, he could read too. So he did. 

Did anyone else catch that snippet of the news last night of Vaughan Gething's appointment as First Minister of Wales being announced? His son, very sensibly, had a book with him, and his nose in it.  That lad will go far ... 

I think I've seen this at Bexhill. Very interesting and memory provoking 

-taff

machasraven said:

The book was called Ludo and the the Star horse and I still have it.

Thank you! now I have to buy it....

Don't uppose you know what th other one was, or anyone know?

t14cy_t

i love to read. im lucky enough to have a brilliant library that i go to at least once a week

Jdm1982

My stepmum has always loved to read. She has wet macular degeneration in both eyes and unfortunately last year woke up one morning to find her sight completely gone in her better eye. She couldn't read "normal" print books. However, we found a service in her area that delivers several books a month to her house and takes away the ones she has read. They are large print. You let them know what sort of books and authors you like and they pick them for you. It's been a lifeline for her. 

Brie

Thought i'd mention that recently I'd got talking to a friend who's a avid reader and somehow The Velveteen Rabbit came up.  She'd heard something vague about it (probably because she used to have rabbits) but had never read it.  I happened to find an old copy online when I was ordering myself some books so effectively got it for free.  She was delighted to have it as a Christmas present!.  I was glad that being a used copy it was well thumbed so there was nothing too obvious to show I'd read it at least twice before wrapping it up to give her.

annieb64

The Velveteen Rabbit was my daughtet's favourite book when she was small.She called it "The Ovaltine Rabbit"

machasraven

I love reading mostly fantasy and horror especially a good Victorian ghost story but a no brainer easy reading novel I won't say no to. I finally got my library at Christmas and slowly getting my books in order. 

MrsStepford

Was reading an old article from The Guardian on the best 50 cookbooks of all time. Lulu's Provençal Table was written by Richard Olney, about his legendary neighbour, Lucienne 'Lulu' Peyraud of the Domaine Tempier vineyard. Found it on eBay for silly money but eventually found it for 12.94. That's still more than I would normally pay for a second-hand cookbook though. 

Richard Olney cooked himself a risotto, then went for an afternoon nap and never woke up. Allegedly, his brothers came to visit, noticed the lunchtime washing up, hoiked the rest of the risotto from the fridge and quaffed the rest of the wine, toasting him.  

MrsStepford

David J Gatward's next DCI Harry Grimm book will be published on 30 March. Excellent news ! It's called See No Evil. 

redofromstart

alicef said:

Late joining to this lovely thread.  We're trying very hard to hold onto our village library in the light of ever more drastic county budget cuts!

My favourite reads, when young(er), were the Borrower series; Stig of the Dump; Once and Future King; A Traveller in Time etc.

These days - mostly non-fiction; current read list 'Where the Wild Flowers Grow'; Weatherland; The Point of the Needle

fiction wise reading, at the moment  the 1930s/40s crime writer Patricia Wentworth.

I'm another Patricia  Wentworth fan, I was so pleased when they released the not miss silver ones on kindle.