Would you expect to see a People’s Friend annual 1998 in an expensive holiday home?

[ThePieceHall]

As per the title, DD2 and I are staying in an expensive holiday home on the coast in North Yorkshire. The bookshelf is the tiredest and saddest I have ever seen. There is actually a People’s Friend annual from 1998. The weather has been glorious and we have been on the Blue Flag beach for hours every day so we have not had to open the really tired and dated jigsaws. Thankfully. Would I be unreasonable to point out to the hosting company that a little bit of investment and a little bit of respect for paying holidaymakers would not go amiss?

Don't be ridiculous / criminal and have some class (if possible)

I guess the assumption is you’ll either bring your own entertainment or be on the beach

Whenever I stay in a holiday cottage, I ‘rationalise’ the box file of tourist information leaflets. I throw away all the duplicate take-away menus and attraction leaflets and out of date bus timetables etc.

I have never told anyone this in real life.

We run a holiday let that has a selection of books about the area, local history and a handful of novels/short stories, some of them quite old. A lot of them came from my late FIL who was interested in local history. Some guests leave novels they've finished with.

They're there so that a bored guest might pick one up and find out an interesting nugget about the area. I don't think the reading material in holiday cottages should be taken too seriously. IMO the more random the better. I stayed in a holiday cottage recently with a fantastically eclectic collection of books.

@ThePieceHall maybe the owners start off the year with a really good supply of new books, games and jigsaws but at this point in the year they've all been pinched by the holiday makers or swapped for old stuff holiday makers have bought from home/a local charity shop.
🤔

Blimey. Does it really matter? A jigsaw’s a jigsaw and most people take their own reading material.

I expect to see a copy of Victoria Hislop's The Island. That book is always popping up.

Unbelievable! Get a grip - and if you want something to read bring your own book.

That actually never occurred to me. Thank you for your helpful advice.

The People's Friend is awesome and what the Hallmark channel can only dream of being. Sadly its prime demographic are now dying and/or unable to read so its days are surely numbered.

And what may I ask,is wrong with a People's Friend annual? 😂

Yes it is still published, and very good for short stories. It would appeal to a different generation from you though.

Fighting talk!

It's an extremely wholesome erring on the religious side magazine for women. Not sure if it's still published as I haven't actually gone looking for it! I remember seeing it on the shelves in newsagents and in doctors'/dentists' waiting rooms back in the 80s and 90s. From what I remember it was mainly short stories and lifestyle and gardening articles. It struck me as a very 'traditional' magazine,the total antithesis of magazines such as 'Chat' and 'Take a Break'!

We own a holiday let. We started off with a few newish books and left a note "Take a book, leave a book", I can't wait to see what's been left when we next visit!

Nope, we’re in the previous century here. As well as The People’s Friend/s, there are plentiful books by Rosamonde Pilcher and Danielle Steele. I did get briefly excited when I spotted a book titled Flowers in the Rain, thinking it was a sequel to the notorious Flowers in the Attic that was passed around in my physics lessons for the (then) explicit sex scenes. But no.

Of course not, that should be in a Doctor's waiting room (remember them?) with the Reader's Digests.

My granny used to read People’s Friend, no idea it still existed; I was surprised enough to read it was published as recently as 1998, but in fact it’s still going! 🤯

Do they also have that other granny favourite “The Friendship Book of Francis Gay” there OP?

I will check and report back!

Caveat emptor. You maybe find that you end up with a charity shop’s supply of The People’s Friend.

It was the kind of publication that went well with Werthers Originals, very quaint.

The Reader’s Digest! Another blast from the past. I imagine that this is still going also but I am too scared to check as I do not want my ‘cool’ algorithms to be freaked out. Reading was really very boring back in the day.

Thank you for your important service.

Expect it? No.

Insist on it? Yes.

’98 is one of the all time greats.

20 short stories? I’d probably read it.

‘Baubles, Bangles and ?’ sounds a bit racy.