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MN book swap clubs

Join our Book Swap forum to share and exchange your favourite books.

Original poster

Anyone fancy joining me in a new swap club?

932 replies

artifarti · 30/04/2009 09:24

I love reading and now that DS can entertain himself for a while trashing my lounge is 8 mo I am finally getting back into the swing of things. But I always read the same kind of books and so would love to have something different sprung on me!

Here's the basics of how it works (thank you Flamesparrow)

How it works

[ Arti sits back and waits for the flood of recruits, hoping that she doesn't end up looking like a no-mates...]

OP posts:
aristocat · 03/09/2009 09:09

arti sun is shining here today although its very windy
i posted to dysgu on tuesday 1st so it should be with her shortly

FlyingMonkey · 03/09/2009 09:39

Hi there. I am FINALLY back online after getting my laptop fixed.

No sign of my book yet but the postman doesn't call until 11am. My letterbox is twitching with anticipation!

The American Boy is an excellent read. I recently read Bleeding Heart Square by the same author - also a very enjoyable page-turner.

aristocat · 03/09/2009 10:43

ladies.....just wanted to share with you my horror of finding a DEAD RAT this morning in my hall.
i have a lovely cat but he is also a hunter, we have had many birds,mice,frogs,fish and a squirrel in the past but never a rat!
he was HUGE and i hope we dont get one again.
does anyone else have a cat who gives you presents?

Maria2007 · 03/09/2009 10:50

A dead rat? Oh my god!!! I hate rats (am phobic of them).

Just wanted to say hello from Greece to everyone Am trying to have a holiday over here but in reality I'm running after 1 year old DS all day long (plus the heat which doesn't help). So not much of a holiday so far

aristocat · 03/09/2009 10:54

Maria... he was horrid.
Greece how lovely, have been to Rhodes and Cyprus and had a great time.
Are the Greeks still so friendly .

Enjoy the sun 'coz is blardy freezing here

Maria2007 · 03/09/2009 10:57

Greece- lovely, yes, but only if you're at a nice island with a wonderful breeze and the sea nearby. In my case, I'm in a city, it's far too hot & humid, and DS runs around even more every day!! As I said, not much of a holiday tbh.

Original poster
artifarti · 03/09/2009 11:16

Oh oh I can beat a rat! My cat is old, fat and lazy and on average catches something about once a year. But when he does, he likes to surprise us.

A couple of times we have had big wood pigeons (one alive, one dead). I am phobic of birds and so when I came home to find a dead one, I'm afraid I shut myself in the kitchen with a bottle of gin and it took me 1.5 hours to pluck up the courage just to put an empty bin over it so I could leave the kitchen!

But my favourite was a big pink fish (bearing in mind I live in the London suburbs, miles from water or fish shops) I still have no idea where that one came from...

Sorry to hear Greece is not much of a hol, Maria. We have just booked a week in Sardinia - first hol since DS was born and I am quite frankly terrified! But the good news is that he is finally sleeping past 6am! I am a new woman, haha!

OP posts:
muddleduck · 03/09/2009 11:55

LadyBee

Sorry

completely forgot about all this - too busy panicking about Ds1's first day at school which was today.

Will post the book tomorrow.

Itsjustafleshwound · 03/09/2009 13:57

Lola - the book and chocolate arrived today - thanks!!

Pooter - I posted the book and choccie today - should be with you soon ...

Hopefully, when DD goes back to school, I won't have to be the entertainment committee and can get back to the shelf full of books that need reading .... High hopes methinks!!

Dead rat is not the greatest thing to wake up to - yuck!!

Maria - we went to Greece with our then 18mo DD - total disaster - she hated the sand, hated the heat, it was a LONG trip and we were usually tucked up in the bed by 8:30 (her bedtime !!)

MrsMuddle · 03/09/2009 15:41

stickylittlefingers thanks for the book and the lovley chocolate, It arrived this morning. I felt cheated last month because I'd already read the book, but I've never even heard of the book you sent this month, and I'm very much looking forward to reading it.

aristocat · 03/09/2009 16:09

DH dealt with the rodent really
we have had a squirrel once however he was very much alive and this was BC [before children] and we were both rushing off to work, managed to catch him with gauntlets and a bath towel.
let him loose in the garden and hope he found his family

did you manage to post to me arti?

whinegums · 03/09/2009 17:09

Oh dear, a rat - yuck - well at least your day could only get better after that aristocat - I hope so anyway!

I posted to Stickylittlefingers on Monday, so that should be with you soon, if not already.

I already have my book for this month (Arti's) but no chocolate unfortunately. So I bought myself a bar today when I was out with DS .

BTW Mrs Muddle, when I saw your post about the rubbish summer, I wondered if you were in Scotland - and found out you're in Glasgow when I clicked your profile - me too!

Original poster
artifarti · 03/09/2009 17:12

A squirrel?! Eeeuuch. My cat when we were growing up (not far from your neck of the woods actually aristocat) used to specialise in rabbits and weasels. I love cats but because my current one is such a lazy so-and-so, I forget what hunters they can be. I don't miss all the little 'presents', I have to say.

Yep, parcel on its way.

OP posts:
LolaLadybird · 03/09/2009 17:28

Jeez - you see, that's the reason I don't have a cat! All of the above mentioned forms of wildlife would freak me out if I found them in my house half-dead. We have a black lab instead which is as daft as a brush but at least she doesn't bring us presents.

Hope DS' first day went well Muddleduck. It was also DD's first day today. I think she enjoyed it - had a complete paddy when I told her she'd have to change out of her uniform when she got home so hopefully that's a good sign!

stickylittlefingers · 04/09/2009 09:51

Actually, I'm rather impressed by a cat who can catch a rat. Ours only managed small mice and birds (and bats occasionally, despite my lectures on leaving endangered species alone).

Not only have I received the book and chocolate, I have devoured both... ta very muchly whinegums ! This is what happens when the train doesn't get a driver in the evening (floods in Berwick apparently). I didn't even notice we weren't going anywhere for about 20 minutes!

So what am I going to do with the rest of the month...

pooter · 04/09/2009 11:17

itsjusta the book has just plopped through the letterbox, so im just going to sample the choccie, oh, and look at the book too...before collecting DS from nursery. stickylf its your book choice, and i think i may be able to read it without crying by the looks of it - so thankyou! although im already gearing up to hate the man!

muddleduck hope your DS had a decent first day of school. Makes me glad we've decided to home ed when the time comes - although we are 2/3 yrs away - phew.

maria hope your holiday picks up - one of the (few?) benefits of going with the inlaws to france in a couple of weeks will be that they can share the chasing of a manic toddler! Our first holiday with DS was in Madeira in a v nice hotel when he was just 9mo - spent half the time in the local hospital as he caught a chest infection and the other half taking it in turns to stay awake and check his breathing. Not a relaxing time! We have learnt since then to take backup!

Maria2007 · 04/09/2009 12:22

'Holidays' with 1-year olds are holidays only in name. In any case, things are not that bad, DP does as much as he can. The main problem is- he's staying at his mum's, while me & DS are staying at my mum's. So DP is not available all the time. Plus, my mum works morning till late afternoon....so, as I said, not much of a holiday. (On the plus side though, DS is LOVING it. So many relatives & friends around, he's having a fab time. He's growing before my very eyes!)

PistachioLemon · 04/09/2009 13:33

Thank you, thank you, thank you dysgu, I just got my book and chocolate in the mail.

I haven't read it before so am looking forward to starting it... I may have to multi-read as I already have another one on the go but don't want to wait to finish that one... oooh this is all very exciting.

FlyingMonkey · 04/09/2009 14:19

I haven't received my book yet sad face

Original poster
artifarti · 04/09/2009 14:29

FlyingMonkey - I was wondering if you had actually, as LadyBee is the only person that hasn't posted on this thread for a goodly while. We'll give her a couple of days and if you don't get anything/she doesn't post, I will email her. If anyone sees her on any other threads, send her here to the headmistress.

OP posts:
FlyingMonkey · 04/09/2009 14:41

Can I be honest and say I'm more concerned about the missing chocolate? I had to go to Tesco at lunchtime for emergency rations.

aristocat · 04/09/2009 14:44

FlyingMonkey hope mine arrives tomorrow too

Original poster
artifarti · 04/09/2009 15:00

I did post it aristocat, honest, first class and all! Blardy posties have all been on strike round here though so it's probably caught up in a backlog.

OP posts:
FlyingMonkey · 04/09/2009 15:16

Ho hum. I'm going to the library tomorrow to collect a book by the same author as Muddleduck's book as I enjoyed that one so much. Hopefully that will keep me entertained until Ladybee's parcel arrives.

aristocat · 04/09/2009 16:50

arti DCs are back at school on monday so normal reading can be resumed

so i dont mind at all waiting a few days !