In a triumph of synchronicity, Cold Comfort Farm has been plucked from the hat, neatly tying together our theme of family with December's chill and this month's forthcoming series about comfort reads on the books blog. Better yet, it's a superb book. It's funny, it's dark, it's strange and it's eminently quotable. Yes, "there's something narsty in the woodshed" – and this month we're going to set about finding out what it is.
As usual, I'd welcome suggestions about themes and ideas to tackle. It might be interesting to look at the inspirations for the book and writers like Mary Webb , and especially pleasing to revisit DH Lawrence who so blighted us back in June. But for now, of course, there is the simple pleasure of reading this splendid book.
I'm pleased to say that we have 10 copies to give away to the first 10 UK people to post "I want a copy please", alongside a nice comment relevant to the book. And if you're lucky enough to get in early, don't forget to email Ginny.Hooker@guardian.co.uk as we can't track you down ourselves. Be nice to her too.
