This must be the place

I don't know about you but I tend to like a book more if I have to look up the odd word here or there. Today I hustled to the city centre library before it shut its doors at six to bag myself this 2016 Maggie O'Farrell as I realised, by virtue of a chipper wee e-mail from a member of my book group, that I should really have read this by next Friday. Only 493 pages, no sweat...
Whilst I awaited the arrival of my bro-in-law and sis at his birthday meal this evening, I liberated the book from my rather-too-heavy panier, thus avoiding engaging in the nation's favourite activity default, phone surfing. Although I only had time to read five pages before the birthday boy and the wee sis arrived, several things happened during this time. Firstly, I mistook the author for a man (because the narrator was a man) and then felt impressed that she had foxed me, if only temporarily. Secondly, I came to the early conclusion that this was my kind of narrator because I liked his sentences and punctuation - the kind I fancied my own to be liike. Thirdly, I noted two very attractive words that I would need to look up later - transmogrify and homunculus. (In case you're as interested as I was 'transmogrify' is to transform in a surprising or magical manner and 'homunculus' is a very small human or humanoid figure.) 
Dinner was a real feast, in fact an actual 'meat fest' for K&R - that's what it said on the menu. I've been meat-free for a couple of months now so went for a combination of sides. Aah, the joy of sides! This homunculus transmogrified into a heaving stomach full of seasonal greens, parmesan courgettes and mac'n'cheese. I was glad of the cycle home so that I could sit comfortably again.