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Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie: A Memoir | Laurie Lee
The beloved bestselling autobiography of an English boyhood Three years old and wrapped in a Union Jack to protect him from the sun, Laurie Lee arrived in the village of Slad in the final summer of the First World War. The cottage his mother had rented for three and sixpence a week had neither running water nor electricity, but it was surrounded by a lovely half-acre garden and, most importantly, it was big enough for the seven children in her care. It was here, in a verdant valley tucked into the rolling hills of the Cotswolds, that Laurie Lee learned to look at life with a painters eye and a poets heartqualities of vision that, decades later, would make him one of Englands most cherished authors. In this vivid recollection of a magical time and place, water falls from the scullery pump sparkling like liquid sky. Autumn is more than a seasonit is a land eternally aflame, like Mosess burning bush. Every midnight, on a forlorn stretch of heath, a phantom carriage reenacts its final, wild ride. And, best of all, the first secret sip of cider, juice of those valleys and of that time, leads to a boys first kiss, so dry and shy, it was like two leaves colliding in air. An instant classic when it was first published in 1959, Cider with Rosie is one of the most endearing and evocative portraits of youth in all of literature. The first installment in an autobiographical trilogy that includes As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War, it is also a heartfelt and lyrical ode to England, and to a way of life that may belong to the past, but will never be forgotten.
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Daisey
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Mehso-so

There are some wonderful descriptions in this memoir, but I didn‘t quite get any point besides sharing of a particular time in English history. Without any connection to the author, I would prefer a story to experience a period of time.

#memoir #nonfiction #1001books
#Reading1001 #TBRTakedown February 2024

Bookwomble Sorry you didn't like this. It's one of my all-time favourites. I read it at school and fell in love with it (though I'd never have expressed it that way then!). 1mo
Daisey @Bookwomble It‘s not even that I didn‘t like it. I enjoyed individual passages, but I admit I appreciate plot more than separate nostalgic reminiscences. 1mo
45 likes2 comments
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suvata
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Pickpick

Cider with Rosie, published in 1959, is a nostalgic and lyrical account of a vanished rural world, where life was simple and innocent, but also harsh and brutal. It is the memoir of Lee‘s life in the rural village in the Cotswolds, England, told in four parts:
• early memories of his family and home
• adolescent experiences of love and sex
• exposure to the wider world beyond the village
• departure from his childhood home and into adulthood

tpixie Nice review! 7mo
suvata @tpixie Thanks 😊 7mo
Cuilin Sounds lovely. 7mo
39 likes1 stack add4 comments
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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy #Midsummersolace #Photochallenge

Day 6 - Drinks

My go-to tipple is a G &T. However, the weekend was so hot, nothing quenched the thirst like a fruity cider... preferably an Old Mout

TheBookHippie Yum 10mo
wildwoodreads Mhmm that looks tasty! 10mo
32 likes2 comments
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LeslieO
Cider With Rosie | Laurie Lee
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#BookHaul !! Fun day shopping at used bookstores. Such good finds. The best: two Brookners 🥰 The tagged book is the only one I‘ve never heard anything about and picked up on a whim. 📚❤️📖

Ruthiella Nice haul! 👍 1y
LeahBergen Wow! 👏 1y
47 likes2 comments
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rachaich
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Pickpick

A pleasant read, of its time and author.
The descriptions of his mother and the relationship with his dad were interesting.
I could identify each of the brothers through his poryrayal, so spot on!

Tamra An eye catching cover - love it. 2y
22 likes1 comment
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rachaich
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I haven't read this since I was 14!
It's a book club choice for October and I'm so pleased. Over the past 18 months I've read the other two in the trilogy and now have a perfect reason to go back to the beginning 😊😊😄😍

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LeahBergen
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My best friend is reading this with her book club and I thought I‘d tag along (as I think it‘s been sitting on my shelves for about 15 years 😆).

robinb This sounds good! 😊 2y
Bookwomble One of my favourite books. I hope you love it ❤🍏🌹 2y
Tamra How fun! 2y
See All 9 Comments
Ruthiella I‘ve heard great things about this title! 2y
Cathythoughts I read this years ago and loved it. The title always makes me smile. 2y
Jess_Read_This I had to pop over to your page to let you know there‘s a copy of Christmas At Nettleford on Abebooks added today - https://www.abebooks.com/Christmas-Nettleford-Malcolm-Saville-Hodder-Stoughton/3... 2y
LeahBergen @Jess_Read_This Thank you! I mean … you‘re a bad influence. Yes, I just bought it. 🤣🤣🤣 2y
Jess_Read_This @LeahBergen Always happy to enable… err.. help! Please post a photo when it comes! ❤️ 2y
LeahBergen @Jess_Read_This 😆😆 I will! Thanks again. 😘😘 2y
89 likes4 stack adds9 comments
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Hamlet
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Pickpick

I‘m a bit mixed in my responses to this one. It‘s a charming, descriptive look at Cotswolds life after WWI; I liked reading the idioms & slang of the era & tales of his eccentric, troubled mother. Heavily nostalgic, this memoir keeps from being too rosy-colored by revealing darker events & impulses of everyone. It gets brutally honest at the end with a failed assault on a girl, the valley‘s “in house” acceptance of incest & manslaughter.

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Kalalalatja
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Panpan

Not impressed... This felt like the author tried to write a novel, without actually telling a story, while at the same time writing a memoir, without a point. I don‘t know Lee, so reading about his childhood felt a bit pointless to me.

#Pop21 - A book everyone has read but you

monkeygirlsmama I don't know anything about this book, but I love your review and whatever you were about to eat looks delicious. 3y
Cinfhen What is that on your plate???? I‘m salivating 😋😋😋 3y
Bookwomble Books either touch you out they don't - no right or wrong about it 😊 For me, this is a favourite book. It fills me with emotion every time I read it; a heartaching nostalgia and yearning for childhood and lost innocence 💗 3y
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Kalalalatja @monkeygirlsmama @Cinfhen it is a Danish “Fastalavnsbolle” - Fastalavn is kinda our version of halloween (less scary), and it is tradition to eat buns filled with some kind of cream/custard/jam. My version was a pastry bun with marzipan and whipped cream, and it was divine 👌 you can only get these buns in January and February so I try to eat as many as I can 😅 3y
Kalalalatja @Bookwomble I get that, Lee definitely has a way with words 👌 I guess for me, it all felt too far away for me to be touched by it, but I think I‘m in the minority 😊 3y
monkeygirlsmama @Kalalalatja Oh my that sounds even better than it looks. The bun, I mean! 3y
Cinfhen Agreed @monkeygirlsmama and of course I noticed that heart right away ♥️🥰 3y
Kalalalatja @monkeygirlsmama @Cinfhen it is beyond delicious 👌 3y
67 likes8 comments
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TheEllieMo
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OriginalCyn620 Cute cover! 4y
25 likes1 comment
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arlenefinnigan
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Pickpick

This is a lovely book, beautifully evocative of long-gone time and place. Nostalgic without being over sentimental, it doesn't shy away from the dark side of life in a rural village, and the poetic language is interspersed with Sid James-esque bawdiness. Overall it's a wistful and fond recollection of a rural childhood in a chaotic but loving family, an really enjoyable read. The line drawings in this edition are really quite charming too.

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arlenefinnigan
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Honestly. The whole book's like this. Big Carry On energy. Laurie Lee was the Sid James of his day.

BarbaraBB I didn‘t like this one at all... 4y
Bookwomble I love Cider with Rosie, and its two immediate sequels, but mainly Cider. It's a rather dark book at times, as is often the case when the hidden-from-adults lives of children are examined. Also, achingly nostalgic in Lee's narrative, and for me as one of the books that stood out for me as a young reader. 4y
24 likes2 comments
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arlenefinnigan
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God I miss the rough brews and the staggers and violence 💔

TrishB Scouse weddings 😁 4y
arlenefinnigan @TrishB hahahaha 😂 4y
22 likes2 comments
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arlenefinnigan
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Cider With Rosie; Gin With Arlene #BooksAndBooze

LeahBergen 😆 4y
Cuilin ❤️ 4y
Bookwomble 🍸🍸 4y
35 likes4 comments
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arlenefinnigan
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#ReadHarder challenge 17: a book with a rural setting

Cathythoughts I loved this years ago ... happy memories of this book & the time I read it 4y
26 likes1 comment
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Some good/great reads with #ruralsetting .

#BiblioMAYnia

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🙌🏻📚❤️ 4y
OriginalCyn620 📚👍🏻📚 4y
69 likes2 comments
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TheEllieMo
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The horse is called Rosie, and she‘s working a cider mill. So this is actually (almost) Cider With Rosie!

LaraS So cool! 🍎 🍁 4y
32 likes1 comment
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TheEllieMo
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Having lived around here for almost 30 years, I consider Gloucestershire to be my #Homeland; the photo (stolen from the Internet!) is of the Slad Valley, which is where Laurie Lee grew up, so it forms the backdrop of the tagged book, Cider With Rosie. And of course, cider is made from #apples

#Spooktober @Eggs
#SoaringScores @CrowCAH @Cinfhen

BarbaraBB It looks so lovely! I really want to travel through England one day. 4y
Cinfhen Absolutely beautiful 😍 4y
Eggs Lovely choice👏🏻🍎👏🏻🍏❤️ 4y
CrowCAH Beautiful landscape! I like apple cider 🍎 4y
39 likes4 comments
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Tove_Reads
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Been meaning to read this one for awhile (read years). Is it good?

32 likes1 stack add
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Kalalalatja
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I hope you can forgive me @Sarah83 for opening your Christmas present a bit early, but since I‘m going home on vacation tomorrow till the 27th, I thought it was best to open your gift today.

And what a gift! ❤️ I can‘t believe you got me one of the lovely Folio collectibles, and one I have been wanting to read for such a long time. Thank you, my sweet friend! Your kindness really means a lot ❤️

#LittensAreTheBest #LittenLove

Cathythoughts Cider With Rosie ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ 5y
squirrelbrain Gorgeous edition! Love the colour! 🍏 5y
LeahBergen Lovely! 😍 5y
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Sarah83 Of course I forgive you. 😘 So great you like it. Finally I found to make you happy 💕💓 5y
Kalalalatja @Sarah83 I can‘t wait to read it! Thanks again 😘 @Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain @LeahBergen I really am spoiled 😍 5y
erzascarletbookgasm Lovely gifts! 👍 5y
erzascarletbookgasm I‘ve sent you a card, Katja but looks like you‘re not going to receive it in time, seeing that tomorrow is already the 24th. Here‘s wishing you a merry and bright Christmas and have a wonderful holiday! 😙🎄🎅❄️ 5y
Kalalalatja @erzascarletbookgasm I sent you a card, too, but I was pretty late, so I new it might not reach you in time 🤦‍♀️ merry Christmas to you and your loved ones Jessie! 💕🎄🎁 5y
93 likes8 comments
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Sarah83
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Mehso-so

#litsyclassics
Just finished my next classic. It was completely different to what I thought it would be like.
Lee tells stories about his childhood in the Cotswolds. Some are quite funny and some (maybe because of the slang) I didn't like. It's like a little time travel. A world without telephone, cars and without Litsy. 😭

Cathythoughts I love this book ❤️. Old times ❤️ 5y
65 likes1 comment
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Sarah83
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Had a horrible day at work. Finally we get our new merchandise management system in November and now everything has to be specified. Who does what and what not. Nothing really works at this time. I am a bit uncertain how to deal with it.
Finally I can read a few pages in my next #litsyclassics . Lovely @DeborahSmall sent it to me and I am pretty excited about it new. #foliofreaks

Redwritinghood Sounds awful! Hope things improve soon. 5y
ju.ca.no I hope things will get better soon and that your weekend will be relaxing🤗🤗 5y
Sarah83 @Redwritinghood Thank you. Sometimes it is really awful. 🙄 5y
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Sarah83 @ju.ca.no this weekend is our Litten meeting in Bielefeld, so it will be a nice weekend 😊 5y
ju.ca.no @Sarah83 ah right, I forgot🤦🏽‍♀️ that‘s good, you deserve a great weekend😊 5y
Sarah83 @ju.ca.no thank you 😍 5y
Cathythoughts I remember Cider With Rosie so fondly ❤️. Enjoy 5y
Avanders Hope today is better! 💙 5y
bookcollecter Interesting my dog is Rosie 5y
85 likes1 stack add9 comments
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zsuzsanna_reads
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Mehso-so

While softened by the fact that it is seen through a child's ete, the poverty, prejudice and hardship portrayed is hardly idyllic. It is an excellent portrayal of a now bygone way of life, but it's not one I would hope to see resurrected.

Laurie Lee portrays his mother as a strong character, yes also describes her as scatter brained and histrionic because she cannot keep house better under exceptionally hard circumstances.

#1001books

scowler1 I had to read this in school, hated it. I wonder if I'd enjoy it more 35 years later. 5y
39 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Moray_Reads
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Moray_Reads
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Oh, lovely! My new (old) copy of Cider with Rosie is illustrated

Reviewsbylola What a nice surprise! 6y
Lindy Lovely! 6y
Cathythoughts Cider with Rosie ... love it & it really brings me back to a long time ago ... 6y
zsuzsanna_reads I think they must be by the author, they are even in my Kindle version 😍 6y
51 likes4 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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I really 💗this coming-of-age story of how the #mother, Annie, brought up Laurie and his 6 siblings after their father walked out on them. She was incredibly hardworking, kept a good house, loved the children to bits. For 35 years, she single-handedly raised her husband‘s 2 families (he remarried) & clung on to the fantasy that aged and broken, he might one day return to her. When he died, her fantasy ceased and it broke her.
#readingresolutions

quietlycuriouskate 👋Hello from Gloucester! 6y
erzascarletbookgasm Well, hi, there! 😃👋 @River_Voice Such a beautiful county you hail from! ❤️ 6y
80 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Pickpick

This is a nice portrait of childhood, of growing up in a Cotswold village after the end of the WW1. Told through the author‘s child-like eyes, during his young boy and teenage years, it‘s amusing in most parts. Lovely and evocative descriptions of an era long gone. Love the setting and the writing.
#24in48 book one.
#litsyclassics

Itchyfeetreader We read this in school over the course of about six months! Maybe I should give it another go! 6y
Cathythoughts Such a lovely review.. exactly as I remember it ( about 40 years ago 😮) .... I remember this book so fondly. ❤️ 6y
Kelican17 @Wife this sounds like a book for you 6y
Wife @Kelican17 on my written TBR already. 🌹 6y
97 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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“I was set down from the carrier‘s cart at the age of three; and there with a sense of bewilderment and terror my life in the village began.”

From my first book that I‘m reading for #24in48
#hour6 #openinglines

Cathythoughts I remember Cider With Rosie & I remember absolutely loving it ❤️ 6y
erzascarletbookgasm I‘m loving the book, @Cathythoughts 🙂 6y
Cathythoughts Yes it‘s the book I read too. ( I don‘t know if there is a movie) 6y
Tanisha_A This is such a happy picture! 6y
78 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Tackling my physical TBR books, here are my planned #julytbr . I‘ll be pleased if I can complete them this month.
#readingresolutions

Kalalalatja Heart‘s Invisible Furies ❤️❤️❤️ 6y
85 likes1 comment
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Bookwomble
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Pickpick

I first read Cider with Rosie at school and enjoyed it, identifying with the author's portrayal of childhood, I suppose. When I re-read it as an adult, and a father, I was overwhelmed by the yearning nostalgia of Lee's prose. But there is no mawkish sentimentality here, no perfect idyll. In places there is a lurking, murderous undercurrent, a burgeoning and threatening sexuality that had gone over my head when I read the book at school. 👇🏻👇🏻

Bookwomble What comes across so strongly is Lee's sense of affection for and of belonging to a place and time that has forever vanished.

Cider with Rosie is not just one of the best books ever written about childhood, it is (for me) one of the best books ever written.
6y
saresmoore Wow, what a lovely review. Emphatically stacked! 6y
Bookwomble @saresmoore I hope I've not oversold it 😉. It has a special place in my heart, though. 6y
Leftcoastzen High praise! 6y
Bookwomble @Leftcoastzen Well deserving its place as a standard school text when I was a pupil. I'm not sure if it still makes the list, but it should! 6y
12 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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Bookwomble
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Ciders with Laurie 🍎 🍻 🍏

LeahBergen I love this! 👏🏻👏🏻 6y
Bookwomble @LeahBergen I think he'd have been an interesting person to share a drink and a conversation with 😊 6y
15 likes2 comments
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merelybookish
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My #currentread is this memoir about a boy growing up in the Cotswalds after WWI. He has three older half-sisters: Marjorie, Dorothy, and Phyllis that help care for him. Of these #sisters he writes, "generous, intelligent, warm-blooded, and dotty, these girls were not hard to admire."
Photo from a 1998 TV adaptation
#150pnpcoverparty @LeahBergen @CrowCAH

CrowCAH That was some nice praise for his sisters! 6y
LeahBergen I‘ve had this on my shelf for years! How are you enjoying it? 6y
merelybookish @CrowCAH He pretty much praises everything in this book. It's definitely life through 🌹 coloured glasses! 6y
merelybookish @LeahBergen It's a perfect light read, an escape into idyllic England of yore when all was lovely, simple, and rosie. ☺️ 6y
84 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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merelybookish
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1. Nope. Sometimes I tune in for half-time show but JT is not a draw. (My 12 year-old daughter just realized last year the Super Bowl is not related to bowling. 🤣)
2. 53 F
3. Cider with Rosie (#LitsyClassicsAtoZ letter C)
4. The Scottish highlands are calling.
5. 👍✋👊

MommyOfTwo 🤣 Super Bowling 🎳 (edited) 6y
merelybookish @MommyOfTwo We are clearly not a 🏈 family. 😀 6y
AshleyHoss820 Scotland for me, too!! 💚💚💚 6y
BookwormAHN 🖐 6y
48 likes4 comments
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DreesReads
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Pickpick

This memoir is an ode to Lee‘s childhood in a remote Cotswold village. It is also an ode to that way of life, which had been ongoing for centuries, and began to rapidly change when he was about 12. No longer remote, no longer insulated, busses and cars made it easier for people to come in—and to leave. Very sweet, I think my mom would like this a lot. 191/1305 #1001books #192019 #1959

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DreesReads
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My first start of the new year! #1001books

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DreesReads
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Getting ready for January! #libraryhaul #1001books #reading1001

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TrishB
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#greenbooks #decktheshelves
@Tiffy_Reads @JoeStalksBeck
Not many green books on the shelves!

emilyhaldi That Sylvia Plath looks cool! 6y
TrishB @emilyhaldi her journals are awesome. Just her private writing is sublime. I‘m a bit obsessive though! 6y
batsy I loved reading her journals, too. I ❤️ reading the private writing of fave writers. 6y
TrishB @batsy a great insight into her thoughts and brilliant writing. 6y
Cathythoughts 👍👍👍 6y
120 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Sarah83
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Sarah83 Another Litten wants to join 😊 6y
31 likes3 comments
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arlenefinnigan
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The best way to consume #apples #riotgrams @bookriot

24 likes1 stack add
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Jess_Read_This
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Tagged by the lovely @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks for #bookcolortag #greenbooks!! 🙈I must love green books because this isn't all of my green books! 💚💚💚💚💚

I love PINK books and would love to flood the tag with the color pink! Tagging @JazzFeathers @LauraBrook @Melwilk @rubyslippersreads @elliemcc11 💖💖💖💖💖💖

Libby1 Adore. 💚 7y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love your green books!!!! 💚💚💚 7y
CoffeeCatsBooks Pretty! 💚 7y
See All 11 Comments
LeahBergen I love green books! 7y
elkeOriginal Lovely! Oh - you have the soft Folio Cider with Rosie 💕 7y
batsy Love! Green Penguins and Viragos make me swoon, lol 💚 7y
kspenmoll 💚💚💚 7y
elliemcc11 Pink 💗💕💓 I like pink! Better get searching the shelves! 7y
Jess_Read_This @elkeo It was a happy surprise Mystery Book in an order!!💚 7y
Jess_Read_This @batsy 💚Me too!! They make me happy. 7y
Jess_Read_This @Libby1 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @CoffeeCatsBooks @LeahBergen @kspenmoll Thank you for liking my greens! I must be drawn to green books as I have more that didn't make the pic! 7y
103 likes11 comments
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Sarah83
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Endlich Zeit für die wichtigen Dinge. Schaut mal hier. 😍 Die liebe @DeborahSmall hat mir ein tolles Überraschungspaket geschickt. Ich weiß gar nicht, wo ich zuerst hingucken soll. 😍 und ich bin jetzt offizieller #foliofreak. 😙 Ich hab mein erstes Buch von ihr bekommen. 🤗

Now it's time for the important things in life. Lovely @DeborahSmall sent my thus surprise package. I don't know where to look first. 😍 so many lovely things. 😍

👇

Sarah83 Right now I am also a #foliofreak. I got my first book from her. Thank you so much. 😍😍😍 7y
Kalalalatja Welcome to the club! 👏👏 7y
See All 10 Comments
DeborahSmall Glad it's all there x ❤️ 7y
Sarah83 @DeborahSmall Yes. Indeed. I'm still speechless about your generosity. 😍 I will have to think about your next parcel. 😍 7y
LeahBergen @DeborahSmall is wonderful! 😍😍😍😍 7y
Sarah83 @LeahBergen @DeborahSmall Yes she really is. 😍 7y
DeborahSmall @LeahBergen @Sarah83 thank you 😘 As are you ladies 💓 7y
Sarah83 @DeborahSmall Thank you.😍 7y
scripturient 😍😍😍😍😍 7y
54 likes10 comments
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Fridayfilms
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Next up.

A week or two ago, someone I was speaking to seemed genuinely surprised that I'd not read this before.

In the bookshop over lunch today, I had ten minutes to choose something before heading back. I spotted this just as I was about to give up on their cryptic display tables and queue for an overpriced wrap at the market instead.

I wish I could remember who I'd been having the conversation with, as now I could say Look: I'm reading it.

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BarbaraBB
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Panpan

A book for the senses. Laurie Lee describes his youth in rural England just after WWI. His home, its surroundings, his family: all are full of colours and smells. Nice read but a bit too sweet for my taste. #1001books

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wlfredowen
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i took this yesterday and its probably one of my favourite pictures i've ever taken! (although i did get laughed at by two middle aged women for reading in public - i mean come on, really???????)

the full picture is on my instagram! the fact you can't post rectangular images is totally messing with the pictures i've got though, especially when the crop tool makes everything so blurry 😥

3 likes1 stack add
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arlenefinnigan
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Book_Gnome
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Opening line:
"I was set down from the carrier's cart at the age of three; and there with a sense of bewilderment and terror my life in the village began."
#bookgnome #dumbledwarf #laurielee #ciderwithrosie

24 likes1 stack add
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katedensen
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Actually, cider (and beer) with @LBApple before we see Louis C.K. later.

Dragon Louis CK won Jeopardy last night ! He won money for his favourite charity 8y
LauraBeth Nice - enjoy 😀 8y
RealLifeReading Cider👍 8y
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Bookschief_managed AHHH lucky getting to see Louis CK!! 8y
katedensen @Dragon Wow! That's so nice. @LauraBeth @Bookschief_managed Thanks! He was pretty great! 8y
katedensen @RealLifeReading Cider is ❤️ 8y
26 likes6 comments