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The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May | H.E. Bates
25 posts | 14 read | 12 to read
Humoristisk roman. A visitor, one Cedric Charlton, Her Majesty's inspector of taxes is visiting to find out why junk-dealer Pop hasn't paid his tax. Mariette takes a shine to 'Charley' - as Pop calls him - and before long the family have introduced him to the delights of country living. In fact, soon Charley can't see any reason to return to the office at all
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review
Chrissyreadit
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Mehso-so

This was a very character driven story- but some of it was a little “off” for me. I think there are things that I do not find funny that maybe a lot of people do? Or maybe the humor does not age well. But I would not consider this family charming- although to be honest I did like the mom a lot just not the authors way of describing her. I will leave it there. Thank you Julie for my beautiful bookmark❤️#lmpbc

TheAromaofBooks I think we all had some mixed feelings on this one 😂 An odd little book! 2y
julieclair Agreed… this book was not what I was expecting. But I‘m glad you liked the bookmark! 😀💐 2y
mabell Likewise 😆 2y
73 likes1 stack add3 comments
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mabell
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Ooof, this was not what I was expecting! I‘ll refrain from reviewing, so it will be fresh for you @Chrissyreadit 😄

I‘ll have it in the mail to you Monday!

#LMPBC #GroupH

TheAromaofBooks I had extremely mixed feelings about this one! 😂 2y
mabell @TheAromaofBooks Umm yeah 😆🤣 2y
See All 14 Comments
mabell @julieclair This has been an interesting round! 😆 2y
TheAromaofBooks I was wondering if you ladies would be interested in doing another round, following the #LMPBC schedule (so the new round would start in March), but we would just agree to do it instead of creating an official LMPBC group, where someone may sneak in and take one of our spots 😂 Let me know what you think - no hard feelings if no, I'll just create the group on LMPBC if we don't all want to go again!! @julieclair @Chrissyreadit 2y
Chrissyreadit Yes!!! I‘m lOVING this genre 2y
mabell @TheAromaofBooks @julieclair @Chrissyreadit Definitely - love this group! ❤️ 2y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! I was thinking that we could just keep going in our same order if that works. We can be in touch later this month to pick our books?? @Chrissyreadit @julieclair 2y
mabell @TheAromaofBooks Sounds good to me! I‘ll have to do some thinking - I had easy pick this round 😆 2y
TheAromaofBooks I know, I think I might send around The Five-Minute Marriage by Joan Aiken this time around. I haven't read it in a long time, but I think it's one we would all really enjoy!! 2y
julieclair Sounds good! And The Five-Minute Marriage Sounds Fun. 😃 @TheAromaofBooks @Chrissyreadit (edited) 2y
mabell @TheAromaofBooks That does sound fun! 2y
33 likes1 stack add14 comments
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mabell
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I keep forgetting to say it arrived! Thanks, Sarah!

And I love the bookmark idea, Julie! Thank you! ❤️📚

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 2y
mabell @Chrissyreadit I‘m sorry I don‘t have this on its way to you yet! For such a short book, it‘s taking me quite a while to get through it 😆 2y
31 likes3 comments
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julieclair
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Mehso-so

Well! This was one crazy romp! Can‘t wait to hear what y‘all think! 😉
#LMPBC Round 16 #GroupH

TheAromaofBooks I'm looking forward to this one!! 2y
mabell A crazy romp sounds like fun! 😄 2y
22 likes3 comments
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julieclair
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I‘m excited to be reading with you all again for Round 16 of #LMPBC! Lots of fun reading ahead for #GroupH.
@TheAromaofBooks @Chrissyreadit @mabell
Thanks, @suvata , for hosting this fun activity!

mabell It‘s going to be another great round! 2y
18 likes1 comment
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squirrelbrain
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I *had* to use this book for #setduringspring. It‘s a wonderful Folio Society edition, recently gifted to me b6 the lovely @Caroline2 so I haven‘t had chance to read it yet, but it has some gorgeous pictures....

#magnificentmarch

Caroline2 I‘m so glad you like it! Roll on Spring eh!! I remember sending that before all this madness and thinking how much brighter things will be with better weather....! 😳 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So pretty 💗 5y
68 likes2 comments
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squirrelbrain
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Thank you so much for the lovely #bookmail surprise @Caroline2 - you are such a wonderful friend!

You are right - the book definitely makes it seem as though spring has sprung! It‘s a beautiful Folio edition and has some gorgeous illustrations in it....

And of course, thank you for the squirrel-appropriate card too! 🐿❤️🐿❤️

erzascarletbookgasm Aww, so lovely! A FS edition! 😍 5y
Caroline2 You‘re welcome. 😊 I‘m glad you like it. 👍 5y
emilyhaldi I‘ve always thought this edition was so fun!! 5y
youneverarrived So nice 😍 5y
75 likes4 comments
review
jillrhudy
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Pickpick

Never was an ordinary tax collector, and a reader, so seduced by a pile of ignorant hedonists gallivanting around a farm. A quarter of the way through, I realized I‘d seen a very similar American movie called “The Mating Game.” This book will make you hungry. Thanks to the Littens who clued me into this hysterical old English comic novel. #humor #england @LeahBergen @Aimeesue and @Mdargusch

Mdargusch I‘m glad you liked it! The food descriptions are crazy! 🤤 5y
LeahBergen 😆😆 Great review! Yes, it‘s a riot! 5y
Aimeesue Hongry now! 5y
jillrhudy @Mdargusch I thought it was great when they wanted to put out finger foods with cocktails and be classy (consulting Charlton) and Ma decided to add an entire ham. 5y
25 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Mdargusch
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I decided I needed a gin and tonic to go along with this book. Now all I need is a roasted goose and some strawberries. The Crazy Larkin family can guzzle cocktails and chow down food with the best of them. This look at a large family living in the English countryside in the 50‘s is wild. @LeahBergen

MicheleinPhilly Book, drink, placemat? combo is 👌🏼. 5y
Aimeesue SO much food in this book! What fun. 5y
LeahBergen This book is wacky fun, isn‘t it? Lovely photo! 😍 5y
See All 8 Comments
Reviewsbylola Sounds like the perfect book for our family then! 5y
Mdargusch Thanks @MicheleinPhilly 💙🧡 5y
Mdargusch It‘s hard to read without eating or drinking along with them @Aimeesue @LeahBergen 🤤 5y
Mdargusch Yes! You should read it @Reviewsbylola - it‘s a quick one. 5y
emilyhaldi Love this picture 😍😍😍 5y
64 likes1 stack add8 comments
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KerriNTurner
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Yesterday was Father‘s Day in Australia, which got me thinking about some of my favourite fathers and father-figures in fiction. But then I got distracted reading and forgot to post 😄 So here it is now, a selection of literary dads and dad-figures to admire and love!
- Matthew Cuthbert
- Grandpa Joe
- Tom Builder
- Pop Larkin
- Jupiter North
- Arthur Weasley
- Tik Tok
Who would you add to the list?

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Michollio
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May wrap up:
31 books
#BookishBingo: 20/24 with 5 bingos

Progress:
#Pop19: 41/50
#ISpy: 40/50
2019: 136

review
HotCocoaReads
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Pickpick

The Darling Buds of May is an outrageous, over-the-top comedy about a family who is trying to avoid paying taxes and confusing the tax guy by not letting him leave and feeding him and trying to push their daughter on him. Some parts were admittedly funny, while sometimes I felt like it was just too much. I could see how this book could rub some people the wrong way. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

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LeahBergen
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My second May-titled book this month and so far, so delightful.

Perfick! 😉

#FolioSociety

Reviewsbylola I bought this one for @mdargusch for Christmas! 6y
LeahBergen @Reviewsbylola You‘re a good daughter! 👏🏻👏🏻 6y
mabell I love the illustration 😍 6y
See All 20 Comments
Cathythoughts Ahhhh 👍🏻💕💕 6y
saresmoore This sounds (and looks) like great fun! 6y
Mdargusch Yes! Now I need to read it @Reviewsbylola 🤩 6y
Aimeesue This book made me very hungry. 6y
LeahBergen @Mdargusch You should read it when you need something light and silly. I loved it! 6y
LeahBergen @Aimeesue Me, too! And I think I want a ship-shaped cocktail cart now. 😆😆 6y
saresmoore I may have ordered a copy. I genuinely can‘t remember. 😬🍷 6y
Aimeesue @LeahBergen You mean you don't have one already? 😂 6y
LeahBergen @saresmoore I just snorted. 😂😂😂😂 5y
LeahBergen @Aimeesue No, and I‘m quite covetous. I only have a bar/cocktail tray that sits out on my sideboard. 😆😆 5y
jillrhudy This showed up via Interlibrary Loan today and I didn't remember requesting it which is ALWAYS the fault of my best Littens. Some book shows up and I'm like, whaaaaaat? must be a Litsy thing. I'll pay my $2 and read it, even if I have acquisition amnesia. 5y
LeahBergen @jillrhudy 😆😆 Well, I hope you enjoy it! 5y
jillrhudy @LeahBergen it‘s a scream! 🤣 5y
104 likes20 comments
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Michollio
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#BookishBingo for May.

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smilingshelves
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My stack for the #24b4Monday #readathon. A thousand page book is a huge commitment at this point in my life, so I'm hoping to use this weekend to get a good start on Ship of Magic. I'm also listening to the tagged book on audio.

@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

Andrew65 A big commitment but Robin Hobb writes great books so should be an enjoyable commitment. Good luck with the Readathon. 👍😊 6y
rretzler The Liveship Traders series by Robin Hobb is very good! I‘m reading through her Realms of the Elderlings series and loved all the Liveship books! 6y
smilingshelves @rretzler I read the Farseer trilogy last year, and I've been eagerly waiting for a chance to start the next trilogy. I'm glad to hear you loved it so much! 6y
See All 9 Comments
smilingshelves @Andrew65 Thanks! I've been looking forward to starting this book for months. And because her books are so good, I really should be glad if it takes me weeks to finish, right? 😀 6y
rretzler I actually liked The Liveship trilogy better than Farseer. I think by the end of Farseer, I was feeling a little frustrated with Fitz and his inability to take advice from those who were more experienced - it would have saved him so much pain, but of course, there wouldn‘t have been much of a story 😝 6y
Andrew65 @smilingshelves Most definitely 😊 No doubt she‘ll tell a great story and it will be worth the time invested. Enjoy. 👍 6y
smilingshelves @rretzler So tricky as a writer to find that balance! And a testament to Robin Hobb's skill that we're drawn so completely into her world as to be so frustrated by Fitz's choices! 😀 6y
MemoirsForMe Happy Readathoning! Can‘t wait to hear what you think of Dear Fahrenheit! 6y
smilingshelves @UwannaPublishme Thanks! I'm just starting it now, and I love it already! 6y
32 likes9 comments
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Aimeesue
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This arrived yesterday. Hoping it will break me out of this reading slump I‘ve been in. Humor usually does it, but even Wodehouse wasn‘t working for me. I read the first chapter last night, and it‘s truly delightful.
#Folio
#Foliofreaks

Karisa Hope it breaks you out of your reading slump! I read anything by Sarah Addison Allen when I need a palate cleanser/slump breaker. 🤗 6y
Reviewsbylola I got this one for @Mdargusch for Christmas! 6y
Mdargusch @reviewsbylola Now I need to buy this for my self! You got me at “delightful “. 6y
Aimeesue @Mdargusch It‘s also likely to make you hungry and slightly dizzy. So much food! And it‘s a bit of a madcap whirlwind as well. Great fun, and just about “perfick!” 6y
39 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Booksbymybed
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Pickpick

A nice little book, weird and funny.

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KateFulfordAuthor
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Pickpick

#inlaws #reviews #others

Remembered now principally as a TV show that launched Catherine Zeta Jones but actually a charming series of novels by a now largely forgotten writer.

Ciannait Wow, I remember the series, I used to watch it religiously...I need to get those books. 6y
76 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Wilkie
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I want to be a #paperbackwriter #heyjune

2BR02B I love old mass market paperbacks like these! 6y
Cinfhen I love these colored pages❤️🧡💚💙💜💛 6y
36 likes2 comments
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KerriNTurner
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One of my most recent purchases from a vintage bookstore. No way I was leaving without these! I‘ve read (and loved) The Darling Buds of May before, but never the sequel.

ephemeralwaltz Beautiful editions! 7y
EvieBee 😍😍 What beautiful editions! I want to own this series, and all of Bates‘ books. 7y
LeahBergen Gasp!!! 😍😍 7y
HotCocoaReads I love these vintage editions! 5y
27 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
KerriNTurner
Pickpick

Funny, delightful, with just the right touch of weirdness. Do not read while you're hungry though - so many amazing food descriptions!

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KerriNTurner
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#AugustGrrrl The Darling Buds of May is a real #familyaffair . This illustration is from the Folio Society edition, which I want!

Cinfhen Sooooo pretty😍 7y
17 likes1 comment
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KerriNTurner
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I wish my average Sunday lunch was like this! Warning: do not read this book while hungry. 😄🤤

LeahBergen I have this book and I've been meaning to read it for ages! 7y
KerriNTurner @LeahBergen have a big meal before you do, it's full of endless descriptions of food! 😄😉 7y
11 likes2 comments
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Caroline2
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I remember watching this TV programme with my Nan when I was little! It had David Jason in it and a very young Catherine Zita Jones! I loved it! Looking forward to seeing what the book is like!

LeahBergen I love that edition! 😍 8y
Caroline2 Thanks! I do Iove Folio Society editions! 😉 8y
48 likes2 comments
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Joanne1
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One of the few times where the movie/TV show is better than the book. Watching some this afternoon as I make my way through piles of washing waiting to be folded.