Allotments 4 All
General => The Shed => Topic started by: Heldi on January 10, 2006, 12:12:46
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Whilst out shopping for books for my two children I bought myself a book which I had read in my very early childhood. "The Folk of the Faraway Tree" by Enid Blyton. It's actually the "Faraway Tree Collection" . I've found myself thoroughly enjoying the trip back into my childhood through reading this book and following the adventures of Bessie,Jo and Fanny (now theres a name I'll bet won't make a come back!).
I had a conversation over Christmas about books we read as kids. A relative had picked up an award winning book her 13 year old was reading. It is aimed at his age group. She was quite shocked to find strong swearing twice by the second page.
My relative's defining book which she read as a teenager was Roots. I have wracked my brains to think which was mine. I've always enjoyed fantasy fiction and escaped into them so when I came to read To Kill a Mockingbird it stuck out in my mind. Made me look out from myself I think.
Later in my 20's I moved on to spy stories. Len Deighton in particular. Having watched a programme about him the other night I've been spurred on to re-read all those Len Deighton books I have stashed up in the loft. Also I was collecting them in hardback...only from car boots and second hand shops though,that is my rule. I've seen a few holes in my collection.
The next book to knuckle down with is The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail by Michael Baigrant,Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. A book I've tackled twice before and failed to finish. Now I have the big fat hardback with extra material and I'm determined to do it!
I want to read Moby Dick. That's the one that has got away...so far.
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I'm currently reading Bleak House by Charles Dickens, inspired by seeing the wonderful BBC series before Christmas.
Before that I really enjoyed The Lady and The Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. I have another of hers The Virgin Blue borrowed from the library to read next.
The first major novel I read as a kiddie was Heidi, and I have fond memories of that. I also used to read a lot of trashy teen series - Babysitters club and Sweet Valley High :-[
Had a bit of a horror phase in my late teens and early twenties, and read a whole lot of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Early twenties onward discovered Jane Austin etc and have had a real English 'classics' phase, with Jayne Eyre, some Thomas Hardy, Vanity Fair and some more Dickens thrown in.
Have always enjoyed a bit of fantasy and first read the Hobbit when quite small and progressed on to Lord of the Rings in early teens. Have re-read LOTR around once a year or so since then. Discovered The Magician thanks to an ex-boyfriend, and have read most of Raymond E Feists work. Also enjoy the Harry Potter series. A fairly recent discovery for me is Robyn Hobb, and I have really liked her 'farseer' series as well as some of her works as Megan Lindholm.
Also read Ben Elton's The First Casualty not long before Christmas and thought that was pretty good.
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I remember my friend and I always played The Faraway Tree at primary school. She played Silky (?) as she had blond hair, but I can't remember who I was!
I currently have several books on the go...
Creative Vegetable Gardening by Joy Larkcom
Witchcraft through the Ages (a history of witchcraft)
(can't remember what it's called) book about Malta during WW2 (my dad was born there in 1941)
Haunted by Chuck Palaniuk
The White Godess by Robert Graves
The Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope
Just a few then....
The last book I completed was Life Interrupted by Spalding Gray (so sad) and before that A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick.
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Moggle I had completely forgotten about Heidi ! That is a blast from the past.
I read Great Expectations earlier this year and was well and truely amazed that I didn't finish it the first time round. I suppose I had other fish to fry when I was a teenager and books were left alone for a bit.
Never read Harry Potter or seen any of the films. Thought about cheating and getting the audio versions. Is it cheating? I don't know why I think that?
Yes Silky is in the Faraway Tree Aqui! I wonder who you were? I used to have more than one book on the go but I'm being strict with myself in order to make myself finish them.
I must catch up with Joy Larkcom. I keep promising myself that.
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I just love biographies or auto/bio. I really like TRUE stories, it can be war.. peace..Royalty. At the moment I am reading Next to you..Caron's Courage by Gloria Hunniford. Although sad in parts it does tell the story of Caron's determination to stay alive as long as possible for her family. Also some light hearted sections in the book..which I am really enjoying.
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Well I'm rereading Anne Rice....sorry...I just think she's such a vivid storyteller...
I've just finished the Faraway Tree, Heldi!! Well not me, reading it to the kids, I had to pin them down at the start, but within a few mins they loved it.
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My favourite childhood book was The Wind In The Willows, I still have the copy my Dad used to read to me, I have quite a collection of them now, too. Always saddened me a little bit that my children don't like it as much as me! I like fiction mainly, murder mysteries etc, I'm reading Dick Francis and PG Wodehouse at the minute, I always revert to PG when I'm tired or stressed, always guaranteed a chuckle. Â :) I also enjoyed The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
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I read the three Faraway tree books with my six year old son a few months back and we both enjoyed them. It's funny how you start reading a story and even though I hadn't seen the book for nearly thirty years, you still know what's going to happen. I wonder if there is any connection between Silky's google buns and the search engine?
Usually have several books on the go. Current reading is 'Treasure Island' - Robert Louis Stevenson (bedtime reading for kids), 'All quiet on the orient express' - Magnus Mills (re-reading this - it's very funny), Â Julian Cope's 'Megalithic European' (more of a dip in and out book) and a book on Persian Gardens from the library.
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Just finished the wonderful Ingo by Helen Dunmore - allegedly a kids book but don't believe it, now being read by my daughter - and My Roots by Monty Don, a collection fo his Observer columns.
Now started Sarah Raven's Great Veg Plot, I Coriander by someone whose name I can't remember, the latest issue of Hortus (a brilliant gardening quarterly) and the catalogue for the Titian exhibition from a couple of years ago! That should keep me busy... :o
Aqui - the Modern Antiquarian's brilliant innit, and you can use it for weightlifting too!
Cheers,
Rob ;)
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Ceratonia - I haven't got the Megalithic Europe yet - must put it on my list. I had a flick through it in the book shop and was glad to see Malta there.
Rob - it's a great book - not much good for reading on the train, though! Makes a good door stop too!
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Ceratonia - I haven't got the Megalithic Europe yet - must put it on my list. I had a flick through it in the book shop and was glad to see Malta there.
It does indeed. We went to Malta last year and visited Ggantija and other bronze age sites and it was only when I got home that I realised Mr. Cope had written about them. His autobiography is a pretty funny read, too, although I am still amazed that he can remember any of it.
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I am totally ashamed to say that I hated reading with a passion until I was in my early 20's. Have made up for it since then mind you. I enjoy most things. Love the books by Rosmunde Pilcher, Marcia Willet (a.k.a Willa Marsh) Anything to do with gardening. All the Harry Potters :-[  The early Wilbur Smiths. Fabulously atmospheric storyteller. I really enjoyed the Dan Brown books especially The Da Vinci Code. Am now reading 'The Two of Us' The John Thaw Biography by his wife Sheila Handcock, and Secrets of the Code... by Dan Burstein hard reading so far but I am enjoying it.
Doris, I forgot all about the Celestine Prophecy.. couldn't put it down and read it all in one sitting. I also loved the Shell Seekers.. going to see the play with Susannah York in Llandudno on 4th Feb.... cant wait. If you love Rosmunde Pilcher then give Marcia Willet a try I'm sure that you would like her too.
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I'll read almost anything - favourite when young "The Water Babies" - I cried! Most unexpected pleasure recently was "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" I simply loved it and couldn't put it down - still makes me think...
Currently reading the last in a trilogy written by Jessie Smith about her life with Scottish travelling people - nothing glamorous in her life and just shows how we discriminate against "our own" people.
Favourite to pop in and out of is collection of short stories "Close Range" Wymoing stores by Annie Proulx which incidentally contains Brokebank Mountain the current "big" film - the story for which is only just over 30 pages long!
Am waiting impatiently for Mr W to finish The Commanchees - History of People.......like true (or could be true) tales about people anywhere
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I got Bury Me At Wounded Knee for xmas. Still reading it, but it makes me very angry.
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Got that too Ace - Mr W very fond of reading about Native American culture historical and current - and you are right, does make you angry!
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Mimi. I enjoyed The two of us. I lent it to my sister-in-law. She is visiting from Kent on Thursday and is returning it., Good book :)
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I liked the book curious incident Wicker but found it very distressing. Â :'(
On Hols read Martina Coles new one, I didn't think she could possibly put any more swearing into one of her books but she managed! :o
One of my faves years back was the Shell Seekers, loved the Celestine Prophecy, now bookless and wondering what type to read, it is nice to finally get reading in the winter months!
Favorite childrens book were any of the famous five ;D And swallows and amazons, my kids didn't like them at all! ;D ;D
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DP. That made me grin. My 83year old sister buys every one of Martina Cole's books. I had never read any of her books. When I went to stay she gave me three to bring home. When I started Reading I thought "Does my 83yr old really like this type of book?" Mind you I still read all of them ::) ::)Was it "The Know" that you read on holiday? Although I think Joyce has got another one which she bought from W.H.Smith's when I was down with her in October.
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Doris - I loved Swallows and Amazons too - I think that was after my Faraway Tree stage. I also played S&A...!
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I wasn't allowed to read Enid Blyton :( but I made up for it in my 20s. Loved Swallows & Amazons, and most of those but my fave book as a kid was The Secret Garden - I still adore it.
I'm currently reading an Erica James book (easy reading), a Minette Walters and next I've got Mark Wallington's The Day Job: Adventures of a Gardener
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I'm in the middle of James Blish's 'Cities in Flight' series. I read it way back in the early 70's, and I'm enjoying it just as much now.
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Lorna I kind've want to read Gloria Hunnyford's book about Caron but I think I'll get too upset. She was part of my era I guess,same sort of age with two kids etc. Makes me sad just to think about it.
Ceratona, Rob and Aqui. I now need to check out Megalithic Europe. Has got me very interested that has.
Did anyone else read the Silver Brumby stories?
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Heldi. I understand what you are saying, yes it is a sad story (I lost a great niece aged 35 in May 2003 which was 4 months after losing my husband. She like Caron had fought cancer for 7 years). However there are some lovely "normal" family times and both these ladies have my admiration. They were both such positive people.
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I also enjoyed The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
I've read that - mixed feelings about it though. I guess the subject matter was too stressful for bedtime reading.
Recently read "The Time Traveller's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. Again I enjoyed it, but it was an unusal format - no beginning, middle or end. Iguess that's the nature of being a time traveller.
Just finished "Wee Free Men" by Terry Pratchet
Anyone read "Cross Stitch" by Diana Gabaldon? Now that's an excellent book - right up my alley. So are Melanie Rawn's
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I'm currently reading The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith, I read White Teeth not so long ago and enjoyed that too.
Books that made a big impact on me when young - hard to answer, there were so many - I think the list must include:
The Domes of Mars by Patrick Moore and Secret of the Lost Planet by Angus MacVicar, which are dreadfully twee science fiction books by today's standards, but they got me hooked at 7 years old, also all the William books by Richmal Crompton and Jennings books by Anthony Buckeridge, and I wonder if anyone else ever read the Bindle books??
Then, after that, at 9 or 10 the next milestone was Beyond Belief by Emlyn Williams, about the Moors Murders, followed by The Bible which I read from cover to cover.
Don't recall reading much in my teens, but later in life have read and enjoyed An Experiment with Time by J.W.Dunne, Das Kapital, Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, and have continued to enjoy science fiction such as Timescape by Gregory Benford, all science fiction really, technical books on things I don't know about, a book called The Reckoning about the downfall of the US and the rise of the Japanese car industry , and oddly (it seems to me anyway) books such as Evelina by Frances Burney, which I couldn't put down. I'm sure I will think of more, and kick myself for not including them.
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My list could change every week - I hate parting with books I enjoy and am loathe even to lend them in case I don't get them back! Every so often I have to put books to the charity shop but there are 3 bookshelves full and odd piles tucked away in corners.....
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I am currently reading a book about JOHN KENNEDY, i cannot get enough of them , i had another for Christmas, i find it all very interesting.Read many books on the KENNEDY family.
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Jenny I was wondering if anyone would mention The Bible.
I read The Lovely Bones and I can't make my mind up if I enjoyed it or not.
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Time Traveller's Wife - I loved and last really good read was "My sister's keeper" and then "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult. Both kept me hooked until the end and had me thinking long after I'd turned the last page. I can happily flit between trashy holiday romps and Harry Potter and from The Children of Cherry Tree Farm (my own favourite Enid Blyton childhood book to Photoshop for Dummies! I have been known even to read "The History of Leeds United" because it was the only thing in the house I hadn't read! I just hate not having a book on the go. >:(
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I'm about to start.. "An instance in the fingerpost" By Iain Pears..set in the 1660s. Recommend "Sarum" the novel of England...Brilliant.
Loved....Enid Blyton, wind in the willows, Tolkien, C s Lewis...other's I have vivid images of but can't remember author's name's..all classics though.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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Recently finished Eyewitness Auschwitz and another called No Safe Place (true life crime of a man who had his wife murdered - the mother of his three children :( ) Have just started a book based on five diaries of holocaust victims which will be followed by diaries of young men called up for National Service. Now, where's the valium? ;D ;D
Please note: somewhere in there I will slip in the biography of Barry Manilow. Oi! Who's that sniggering at the back? ?
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Just finished Emotianal Intelligence by Daniel Golman and about to start
The Emotional Brain by Joseph Le Doux...not my usual forte...prefer
a good murder....First book that I ever read was Treasure Island and after
reading it that was me hooked....I always have at least 2 books on the go
and like others I loathe to part with them I have well in excess of 4,000
books between the attic, bookcases and assorted shelves....pssssst
not a word to my OH... ;D ;D who's Barry Manilow ??
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The Lovely Bones..............a great choice Heldi! Written from the perspective of the victim and I found it fascinating.
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Agree SueT and Heldi - Lovely Bones really impressed - come to think of it I gave my g'daughter it to read and she hasn't returned it grrr..
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I was wondering if anyone would mention The Bible.
I did once...but I think I got away with it?
;D ;D ;D ;D
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I spend a great deal of time on it, but most of it's academic stuff. My first concern is to try to understand what the guys who wrote it were getting at, in an environment which is almost incomprehensible today. That's often very different from what churches reads into it now. I've been a Methodist preacher for 18 years, but I tend to be rather unorthodox.
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Please note: somewhere in there I will slip in the biography of Barry Manilow. Oi! Who's that sniggering at the back? ?
Sorry YP - that was me.
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As a child the choice of books in the house was Black Beauty or The Adventures of Sinbad. Black Beauty just didn't float my boat but I still have the Adventures and still love reading it ( and it still smells old and musty and full of secrets)
I then graduated to absolutely anything I could get my hand on but remember getting hooked on the Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators Series - like Famous 5 but set in the 70's.
The book I remember having a big impact in my late teens was A Scot's Quair by Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
Currently reading The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut, one of Robert Wilson's police novels set in Seville and Monty Don's My Roots.
Used to work in Wilmslow ( dahhhhlings) and discovered that the charity shops there had a great supply of recent, quality fiction, so bought stacks of speculative paperbacks before I finished there so plenty to go at. Most get recycled back out to my local hospice.
Toodle Pip
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I have just started reading a book called "Under the Weather". It is a book about how weather patterns can affect people's health and their moods. I thought it would be interesting as I feel it certainly has an effect on me. I have always loved reading and as a teenager used to go to the library about three times a week. Loved everything from Jane Austin to Isaac Asimov, and then last year I found out I was born in the Library at Stagshaw House in Corbridge, Northumberland, which really tickled me. :) busy_lizzie Â
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What a great idea for a thread Froglets! Plocket, I love 'The Secret Garden' too.
I'm a voracious reader and feel bereft if I don't have a book on the go. Luckily we have a brilliant library in the village otherwise it would be mortgage-level spending at bookshops.
Also loved Black Beauty as a child and I re-read it again a few months ago, the magic was still there.
Been through the classics although can't get on with Dickens, for relaxation like crime stories, anything really. Was very struck by 'The lovely Bones'. Currently enjoying Daphne du Maurier's 'The King's General.
OH has just come up with a selection of Russian classics he read while at University. Have read a couple of them but have kept them all for now rather than donating to the library!
Happy reading!
CLx
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Cotwoldlass.My boss (just before we both retired) gave me 15 books titled The Greatest Marpeices of Russian Literature. 8 of the books are by Dostoevsky. I don't know if this is a complete set Would be interesting to find out. Maybe I will Google.
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What am I reading?
In order of preference
1. Thud a novel by Terry Pratchett
2. Farm & Horticultural Equipment Collector magazine
3. Kitchen Garden magazine
4. The Daily Express
5. This message board
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[1] Kitchen Garden November Issue ;D
[2] Kitchen Garden in Waiting January Issue ;D
[3] Articles Downloaded from the Net [Subject]
Pumpkins and Squashes 8)
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Just started a book I got for Christmas.
"Close to the Veg" by Michael Rand. A book of Allotment tales.
It looks and has started quite well.
Regards
Chris
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Am reading Karin Slaughter "Indelible"
Next it will be Lynn Truss "Talk to the hand"
After that Richard Craze "Out of your townie mind" this to convince myself that a smallholding will be a Bad Idea!!
Also have every seed catalogue available next to my bed to encourage dreams of the up and coming season!!
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Defining books? - goodness, how long have you got?! My favourite book when I was very small was A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett :-[ - then at 7 I read Watership Down & became addicted - read it about 20 times in the following 10 years. At about the same age I read Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy - I was probably too young for them but they made a big impression & I have loved fantasy novels ever since. Read The Lord of the Rings when I was 11 and Tolkein is still one of my favourite authors. I also read The Bible when I was 15, & it's probably overtaken Watership Down as most read book now, though I'm no longer counting! In my late teens I did French lit. A-Level & thought Annouilh, Gide, & Sartre were wonderful - then did a degree in English & European Thought & Literature & discovered Pascal, Rousseau, Voltaire, Stendhal, Alain-Fournier ... and even a few non-French authors like Beckett, Ibsen, & TS Elliot.
I have trouble reading my more literary books now because of concentration problems :'( - also tend to re-read old favourites more than I read books which are new to me for the same reason. The ones I read over & again include lots of fantasy - as well as Tolkein & Le Guin, there are Jasper Fforde's wonderfully funny Thursday Next novels :D, Neil Gaiman's Stardust, Douglas Adams - my favourite is The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul - and JK Rowling's Harry Potter books (yes, do read them, Heldi, they are wonderful - though Stephen Fry reads them aloud brilliantly too - audio version not cheating, but much more expensive! The films miss out a lot of the best bits). Non-fantasy favourites include Catherine Fox's Angels and Men (& its sequels), the Lord Peter Wimsey novels of Dorothy Sayers, anything by Caryl Brahms & SJ Simon but especially No Bed for Bacon (the book Shakespeare In Love is plagiarised from), and Georgette Heyer's regency novels for some mindless escapism.
R reads a lot more than I do now & unlike Cotswold Lass we don't have a brilliant library, and have to think about second mortgages to restrain ourselves a bit every time we visit a second hand bookshop ::)
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Shakespeare! Juliet I love A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelth Night.
I absolutely think Stephen Fry is fab and I knew he did the Harry Potter audios. I'm tottering on the edge of buying one. I don't even know which is the first novel.
I was in a little book shop today..you go through it to get to the post office. I kept my eyes front and didn't look...then I went up the street and spent £125 on a little Dutch dresser that I fell in love with on the spot. Oops. :o :) It does have shelves book lovers!
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I always have quite a few books on the go :
- Love Lives, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees ( thats my bit of escapism) :)
- Herbs and Healing Plants, Dieter Podlech
- The Book of Chakra Healing, Liz Simpson
- Jamies Italy
- Tips from the Old Gardeners, Duncan Crosbie
- Mystical and Sacred Sites, John and Ann Spencer
- Kitchen Garden magazine Ofcourse
Have got a copy of Lovely Bones, not read it yet, think I'm plucking up the courage coz I'm not sure what I'll make of it! :-\
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Defining books? Tolkien, the Earthsea series, Dune, Moby Dick, H P Lovecraft. Not the Bible, that's a study not a read.
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Shakespeare! Juliet I love A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelth Night.
I absolutely think Stephen Fry is fab and I knew he did the Harry Potter audios. I'm tottering on the edge of buying one. I don't even know which is the first novel.
I was in a little book shop today..you go through it to get to the post office. I kept my eyes front and didn't look...then I went up the street and spent £125 on a little Dutch dresser that I fell in love with on the spot. Oops. :o :) It does have shelves book lovers!
Shakespeare was one of the long list of authors I left out on the grounds that my post was getting too long. I've been in Midsummer Night's Dream twice, but Hamlet is my favourite - have read it so many times & seen so many different versions & read so many books about it I could probably do it on Mastermind (except for the whole 2 minutes under pressure thing which would mean my mind went completely blank & I forgot my own name).
The first Harry Potter is The Philosopher's Stone - do make sure you read/listen to them in the right order. Maybe you could find the audio tapes in the library (& save some of the money you spent on the dresser!)? We have managed to buy most of the books second hand from library sales (about the only thing our village library is good for!).
Have most of our books packed into boxes in the garage at the moment as we thought the sheer volume of them might put off house hunters who wanted to actually see the walls - will have to buy some more bookcases when we've moved ::).
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What a question......the easy answer is
Reading now - bedtime only -
'Driving Over Lemons' - An Optimist in Andalucia' by Chris Stewart - retired (at 17) drummer of Genesis to become & sheep shearer & travel writer.
thumbing thru at night also G.Y.O. mag & K.G.mag
Reading during the day
St. Kilda Portraits by David Quine
and I regularly 'thumb thru' 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden - just to compare the weather mainly but always get 'sidetracked' into reading more! - it's so fascinating and I love the nostalgia
as a child, also enjoyed Edith Blyton (met her once at The Ideal Home Exhibition and acquired her autograph in one of her books) not got it now tho :'(
can remember reading 'Water Babies' too and crying also the 'What Katy Did' books.
Have especially loved reading Derek Tangkye and his wonderful books about the flower farm he and his wife used to care for on the Cornish Coast - have read all of his.
Enjoyed & was 'moved' by Maisie Moscow's 'Out of the Ashes' series.
Love books by Dick Francis, Maeve Binchy and enjoyed 'Chocolat' by Joanne Harris....have 'Five Quarters of the Orange' by the same author waiting to be read!!
Others recently read - 'The Christmas Train' by David Baldacci - just loved it - would sooo like to do that journey!!
'Games' by Frances Edmonds
also recently enjoyed but listened to on audio tape:
Hidden Talents by Erica James
Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde
Paper Money by Ken Follet
The Tea House on Mulberry St. by Sharon Owens and many, many others....I 'listen' to books while preparing meals, making chutneys and ironing - it's like listening to a play.
sorry the list is so long - got carried away ::)
H.P.
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'Driving Over Lemons' - An Optimist in Andalucia' by Chris Stewart - retired (at 17) drummer of Genesis to become & sheep shearer & travel writer.
Great book that. HP did you know there was a sequel?
My bedtime book at the moment just starting is "The Luberon Garden" by Alex Dingwall-Main - adventures of a Provencal gardener.
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Shakespeare = Tudor propagandist IMHO
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First book that I ever read was Treasure Island
First book I ever read - The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. Bought it and re-read it last year and still a great read.
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Shakespeare was always a propagandist for whoever was in power. But I always did like Macbeth.
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HI Heldi & everyone,
Just been catching up on the books thread having been otherwise engaged for a few weeks. I can thoroughly recommend the Harry Potter books and CD versions. We have them all. OH and I have read the lot and Possum - for whom English is a second language - has read one and started on the second but got diverted by Pippi Longstocking. She likes all the HP films and we're off to see the latest on Saturday having located the last cinema showing the original version and not dubbed in French.
We always have the CDs in the car for long journeys such as UK visits and skiing and beach hols. They pass the time brilliantly with everyone engrossed and no-one fretting about being bored and "are we nearly there?".
The first one (for Heldi) is the Philosopher's Stone, then Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix and then Half Blood Prince. They're a good yarn on many levels and suit all ages and have many classical references. For more philosophical stuff with a good yarn though, I would recommend Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy starting with the Northern Lights.
As for me, I read voraciously as a child - all the usual suspects - loved things like Swallows and Amazons but never could bear Dickens and Brontes but still love Jane Austen - such dry wit and excellent character drawing. It's not so easy to get books here as I have to trawl the annual charity sale - usually thrillers which are fine or soppy romances which I avoid. There are a couple of English language bookshops in Brussels but then you have to pay VAT and exchange rate premiums on new ones.
Currently reading the last three issue of Gardener's world and the Garden and am about to start the new PD James which I bought on a recent lightening visit to the UK.
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...am about to start the new PD James which I bought on a recent lightening visit to the UK.
Really excellent book, IMHO! And so is "End In Tears" by Ruth Rendell if you can get hold of it.
Cheers,
Rob ;)
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Always reading several books at once. Currently on the go Urban Gardener by Elspeth Thompson, a collection of articles from her newspaper column; In the Moon of Red Ponies by James Lee Burke an auther I would recommend to anyone who hasn't come accross him. I don't read many biogaphies but an currently deeply into Man on the Run by Manuela Ranchi, a biog. of Marco Pantani, a racing cyclist.
Someone mentioned favourite authers earlier but I have too many to list though in the several times mentioned fantasy genre they would include Guy Gavriel Kay and Stephen Donaldson's Illearth series in addition to Tolkien.
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As a child i loved The Borrowers, Swallow & Amazons, Enid Blyton and Peter & Wendy (Finding Neverland is current fave film)
Before Christmas I read Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori trilogy - outstanding.
Am currently reading: Eragon - Christopher Paolini
Pompeii - Robert Harris
Jamie's Italy
Eyewitness guide to Paris
Hot_Potato - I read Driving over Lemons and the sequel Parrot in a Pepper Tree every year on holiday - i love them.
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Sold !! It was the "Are we there yet? " that did it!
I once observed a mum reading Harry Potter in an Ikea restaurant whilst her two kids perused the catalogue. :)
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First book I ever read - The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. Bought it and re-read it last year and still a great read.
Coincidence - I was thinking about that book last night - due to a Russian film I watched. Remember really loving it as a child, but thinking back, maybe didn't appreciate it fully - knowing more about the Nazi camps in Poland probably puts a different perspective on it. Reckon it's a bit too scary for my kids just yet.
No surprise that 'Driving over Lemons' is popular on this board, I suppose. Nearly half a million copies sold, too.
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Just met up with MIL & step-FIL for lunch/belated exchange of Christmas presents - they gave me Peter Beale's Classic Roses (as requested), so suspect I will be reading - or at least dipping into - that for a while now ;D
Robert - I said the Bible was a defining book, not a read! But being made up from so many different books in so many different styles (poetry, stories, ideas, prophecies, history - for those people who haven't read it) I'd say bits of it are a cracking good read, others distinctly more of a study (unless you happen to enjoy long lists of names & regulations!).
Merry Tiller - member of the Richard III society by any chance?! IMHO you're right. I'm a big fan of Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time (though that's a bit slanted the other way!).
Obelixx - just realised, reading your post, that I left Jane Austin out of my list - she should definitely be there. Emma is my favourite but all her books are among those I re-read. I didn't like Philip Pullman's books though - I don't think he writes character very well & found the books very dull in consequence, and also, I thought if he's going to write anti-Christian propaganda he might at least take the trouble find out a bit more about Christianity & get his facts right (it's the academic in me - I don't approve of sloppy research!).
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No Juliet I'm not a member of the Richard III society though I've sometimes thought about it.
I've never had much time for old Shakey, always seemed like a bit of a snivelling crawler to me
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But if you think about it in terms of - he was almost certainly a Catholic, from a family of known dissidents, trying to make a living as a jobbing playwright under an aggressively Protestant monarchy - you can't exactly blame him for wanting to keep his head! And the poetry is wonderful.
And I blame Thomas Moore for the Richard III thing - if he hadn't written all that Tudor propaganda Shakespeare wouldn't have been able to nick the idea.
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True, and I'm sure Richard wasn't entirely blameless. On the whole they were men of their times I guess
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What about the Gradeners World Mag? ??? ;D
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Robert - I said the Bible was a defining book, not a read! But being made up from so many different books in so many different styles (poetry, stories, ideas, prophecies, history - for those people who haven't read it) I'd say bits of it are a cracking good read, others distinctly more of a study (unless you happen to enjoy long lists of names & regulations!).
That's the big difficulty with the Bible; what one bit says, another bit unsays. If you're not very careful indeed, you end up reading what you put into it, not what the people who wrote it actually meant. I certainly wouldn't claim Deuteronomy 7 (where God supposedly commands genocide) as defining! There are lots of other dangerous passages as well. I detest Ezra/Nehemiah, which are so separatist that the authors insist that the Law copmmands that the Israelites ( who have never heard of any such commandment) get rid of foreign wives; in fact this never happened and marrying out became a major source of converts. On the other hand, I like Ruth, which is about a Midianite with a legal right under the Law to demand marriage to an Israelite, and Jonah, which is a comic story about a bunch of nasty foreigners who take God more seriously than Jonah does.
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Have not read the Bible. I don't know how to approach it to be honest.
I forgot to mention I'm reading alot of Thomas the Tank Engine books. My daughter has gone train bonkers. I'm so pleased as Barney is off the playlist now in favour of Thomas. Ringo Starr is much easier to listen to whilst ironing.
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What about the Gradeners World Mag? ??? ;D
I prefer the Kitchen Garden or Grow Your Own. GW mag is lovely to look at but it's a bit like the programme - a bit 'posh' I guess is how I would describe it!! ::) I don't think for veggie growers it is as good a value as the other two....although I am but a beginner!
Jane Austin should certainly be in there - Pride & Prejudice is my fav although Emma a very close second.
And Cider with Rosie for English class memories.
And Charlotte's Web...... :'(
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I also loved Jane Austen's 'Emma' was given in after my niece Emma was born over 30 years ago now and treasure it.....
Having watched the video of Roald Dahl's 'The BFG' time & again with my grandson Thomas - I really enjoyed actually reading the book!
oh and to Flower Lady & Kentish Chloe - no, I didn't know there was a sequel to 'Driving Over Lemons' - which I'm 2/3rds of the way thru now...will keep my 'eyes open' for it - thanks :)
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Currently reading Peter Ackroyd's London -the Biography, ironically too big & heavy for the train if I start commuting again.
Patrick Leigh Fermor's -A Time of Gifts, read it before but saw it in the charity shop and couldn't resist.
'The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe' with my daughter.
I've also got DNA by Watson -haven't really started it yet -just 'bagged' it from the library.
......and Kitchen Garden.
Jeremy
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I've had a big turn-a-round ... have decided after I finish Diaries of the Holocaust I shall read Jon Snow's biography instead. I've had it about a year but it's been sitting on my bookshelf, don't really know why as I think it's going to be fascinating.
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Have not read the Bible. I don't know how to approach it to be honest.
Well, I certainly wouldn't suggest you begin at the beginning & go on until you get to the end! - that would mean that after a few good stories in Genesis (Adam & Eve, Noah's ark, Joseph & his brothers etc) you'd quickly get bogged down in all the history & law books which follow.
But if you do want to read some of the more fun bits the first thing is to get a decent translation - the older ones have nice language but are a bit incomprehensible in places, whereas some of the modern ones lose all the poetry. The New International version is a reasonable compromise & fairly standard in a lot of churches now, but I like the Message version - it's a bit Americanised but I think it gets the balance of poetry & modern language better.
If you like poetry the collection called "the old testament wisdom books" in the Message version is a pretty good place to start. As Robert says, the books of Ruth & Jonah are good stories, as is Esther. As far as the new testament is concerned the gospels cover a lot of the same ground so reading all of them one after the other isn't advisable - I'd just go for Matthew or Luke and then the Acts of the Apostles (which is also written by Luke so there's some continuity).
And on another subject entirely, what's the Peter Ackroyd like, Derbex? - keep seeing it around & wondering whether my mum would like it.
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I am currently reading Robert Goddard's 'Sight Unseen'. I do think Goddard can be a bit hit and miss but judging by the time I am spending reading it, this one is hit so far. Good, pacy, layered and believable - so far. I thought his take on the Grail mystery in 'Days Without Number' was far superior to Dan Browns novel written with a movie deal in mind. That is a problem that I am finding with a lot of current American authors - they all seem to have one eye on Hollywood and write accordingly. Dan Browns Digital Fortress was just a joke of a book that tipifies this tendancy - although I do like the moral messages he includes in his books.
I am a big fan of modern fiction of all sorts - I have recently read an excelent crime novel by an author who sets his books in the Peak District (the author's name and book title escapes me at the moment). Crime wise I also like Peter Robinson and Rankin.
Carl Hiasson is good for a good laugh - American but with a disdainful view of the 'American Dream' and all that entails, and not written with an eye on the movie deal.
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Ummmm -good question, I can't quite make my mind up and I, about a quarter of the way in. The worst bit so far was the beginning which all gets a bit 'mystical', but after that it's pretty good. I think it's probably (like the bible) best read in bits -if it wasn't so big it would be a good commuting book as you could read a chapter, more or less on a topic, at a time and not worry if you didn't pick it up again for a week. In fact I think I might give it back to the library and buy a copy to dip into every now and again. If your mum is keen on history (or London) then it's probably a good buy -almost as a reference book that can be read.
As to the bible we've a children's one -probably 40 years old- that we read to my daughter when she's in the mood. Personally I prefer an older version -I like my thees & thous -though you can keep the begats.
Jeremy
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RHS plant finder 2005 - 2006 & RHS encyclopedia of gardening. ( Bicentenary edition. ) ;D
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Thanks Jeremy. Mum is keen on history - & London - &, indeed, history of London - but I don't think she'd like the mystical bit so it's probably not a good book to get for her as a surprise birthday present - wouldn't want the beginning to put her off. I'll mention it to her though.
I like my thees & thous too, but I imagine they're also a bit off-putting if you're not used to them. The begats are very dull!
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::)
Forgot to mention Janine McMullen "My Small Country Living" and "Wind In The Ash Tree"...have loved these for years, probably out of print by now, but her tales of the foibles of the goats, whippets, horses etc speak to the smallholder in me!! That's the smallholder I am trying to ignore cos I dont have enough dosh!!
;D ;D
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Several books on the go, though one not finished but returned to library after 6+ weeks, namely JG Ballard's short stories which are excellent. Bedtime reading is Grandchester Grind (the sequel to Porterhouse Blue) by Tom Sharpe. Also reading my OU course book.
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My earliest recollection of reading was Beatrix Potter ...
Benjamin Bunny ... of course ... ;D
when I became "too old" for little books I got seriously into the Narnia Chronicles, and here they going into films !
But today I spoilt myself
I have bought "Gardening & Planting by the Moon" - Nick Kollerstrom.
somehow I don't think this is going to be bedtime reading :D
P.S If anyone needs any data from it let me know!
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Gosh I found this topic whilst searching for something else. I wonder...did you all get your reading done? What was your favourite read of the past year?
I still haven't read Moby Dick. I found a brand new hard back edition in a bric a brac shop for 3 quid. snapped it up and started reading it straight away....it got usurped by some other quicker reads and it is still sat waiting for me to pick it up again. Strange thing is, is that I was enjoying it even though I found it a bit of a trawl haha!
I bought and listened to all of the Harry Potter books on audio cd and thoroughly enjoyed them.
The main book event for me has to be finally aquiring some shelves which enabled me to pick all the piles of books off the floor. For a while I didn't have to climb over anything to get into bed...that's been replaced now by boxes of shoes,clothes and hair doing implements.
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Heldi. Too many to list but as I really enjoy biography's and autobiography's they have been my main reads. Recently Eamonn Holmes, just finished Amanda Barrie. Now reading Cilla Black and next will be Claire Rayner. Last week Lorna bought from her charity shop. Eric Morecambe.Unseen. The lost diaries, jokes and photographs. All books have been birthday or Christmas presents. Family always buy me biography's. More shelves needed. Have also read several fictional books when short of reading material.
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just found this post ... reading
Concurrent Systems
An integrated approach to Operating Systems, Distributed Systems and Databases by J Bacon
as you can probably guess its a course book and, shock horror, its not as interesting as it sounds
G
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~mostly murders and seed catalogues
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Never read a book when I was small (had problems with reading) then only started reading recipe books when I was about 25 (1977)
Different story now enjoy all sorts
Just finished Martin Cole - The Graft
Had two books for Chrissy - The allotment hand book Caroline Foley ongoing reading
and the Story of 'O' - Banned in the UK for years quite erotic read in 2 days !! ::)
Just started OH's book The Sound of Laughter Peter Kay
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Oh dear! For someone who loves reading I am in a sad situation....here goes,with apologies to 'The Fast Show'..
Today I am reading Law Books!
Love CLx
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I am reading Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, currently on the third one, The Waste Lands.
I find SK patchy - at his best he is a superb writer, but he has also written some awful stuff. So far so good with the DT - it's not really what I expected. I was afraid it was going to be another wannabe Tolkien effort, but it's quite different.
Anyone else read it?
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The posts on A4A ( Sorry could not resist it )
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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I'm reading, not necessarily in order, Elizabeth Peters, all her Egyptology mysteries,
Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith, all my gardening books and, as Richard says, all these posts ;D ;D
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Moby Dick's like most novels of the time; it rambles. There's some superb factual stuff about whaling, but it's mostly incidental to the plot. Very well worth the effort though.
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Polished off the Wintersmith got for Xmas... couple of Lottie books including Foley.. and just to scare myself "Frozen in time" about three terrible winters in the 20thC two of which I lived through!
8)
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I noticed mention of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" further back. Great story, although Pullman's worlds don't have the depth and consistency of Tolkien's (but then, whose could?).
The first part of the trilogy is currently being filmed as "The Golden Compass" with an excellent cast headed by Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Lots of pics on the website, looks as though it will be really good.
http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/
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I loved the Faraway Tree books (way back at the beginning of the thread!) and the Silver Brumby books as a kid too. I'm currently reading my xmas presents:
Grow your own veg, Joy Larkcom
Buried, Mark Billingham (just finished)
Triptych, Karin Slaughter (just started)
then I've got the 4th instalment of Clive James's autobiography, North Face of Soho, and Bill Bryson's The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid to look forward to.
a couple of books I remember being read when to us when I was at school are by BB: The Little Grey Men and Down The Bright Stream (from amazon):
"The last four gnomes in Britain live by a Warwickshire brook. But when one of them decides to go and explore and doesn't return, it's up to the remaining three to build a boat and set out to find him. This is the story of the gnome's epic journey in search of Cloudberry and is set against the background of the English countryside, beginning in spring, continuing through summer, and concluding in autumn, when the first frosts are starting to arrive. First published in 1942, this book is still fondly remembered and well-loved by readers everywhere. This edition includes the original black and white illustrations by the author."
ooh, that's made me all nostalgic...!
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Reading at present..Earthly Joys by Philipa Gregory, (looking promising) and next up is A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka.....can't wait for that one, read a few pages on a journey-and whetted my appetite.
Loved the Far Away Tree and Harry Potter and Charlottes Web.
My favourite so far is The Time Travellers Wife, couldn't stop thinking about it after I finished it. Moving stuff.
Used to enjoy Lynn Reid Banks, especially An End To Running.
Looking at my bookcase now, there are soooo many books I have read and loved, I could go on forever. ;D
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I'm about to start reading a book called Blood, Sweat & Tea, author Tom Reynolds.
The synopsis on Amazon:
Have you ever wondered what's going on inside that ambulance you see screaming past with its sirens on and blue lights flashing? Does it contain a heart attack victim fighting for their life, while trained medical professionals administer emergency treatment? Or have you considered that it might be yet another 'maternataxi' ordered by a woman who can't be bothered to book a real cab and who then complains she can't smoke on the way to hospital? Meet Tom Reynolds. Tom is an Emergency Medical Technician who works for the London Ambulance Service in East London. He has kept a diary of his daily working life since 2003, first as a website called Random Acts of Reality and now for the first time as a no-punches-pulled book. His award-winning writing is, by turn, moving, cynical, funny, heart-rending and compassionate. From the tragic to the hilarious, from the heart warming to the terrifying, the stories Tom tells give a fascinating - and at times alarming - picture of life in inner-city Britain, and the people who are paid to mop up after it.
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Is this the 'Blogger' interviewed on R4 ? If so, you are in for a good read YP.
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It is indeed EM. I've been reading some of the blog today, it's great stuff.
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Made a note of that one Sam.
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I got Wintersmith for my birthday on Sun.... finished it last night! (i feel I have too much time on my hands now that I have hidden all the ironing ;D).
Emaggie - my bookgroup read The Time Traveller's Wife - we all love it. I cried buckets!
Love the Andy Cleveley book - my favourite bit is the picture on pg 22 of the lady standing in front of her shed. It's so lovely and neat inside! Mine will look like that one day!
Waiting for "The Gardener's Pocket Bible" to arrive from amazon and am considering "Your Allotment:The-Down-to-Earth Guide to Plot Paradise" from them as it looks quite good
Next on the list is To Kill a Mockingbird - read it at school but it's our "Classic Title" for bookgroup, and I'll definitely be giving that Tom Reynolds book a try - it sounds amazing
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I got Wintersmith for Christmas, haven't started it yet though.
Mr Pratchett must be worth a fortune going by his popularity on here alone
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Bluebird...pass it on when you've finished!!!! ::) ::)
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I have no desire to read any Pratchett books despite my partner having all of them :-\ just finished the DA Vince code and prior to that sabriel by Garth nix , before Pratchett fans get mad each to their own as they say gonna take the fifth for present reading and say a4a ;D
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I'm currently reading "Vanity Fair" - what a wow and how relevant to now!! :o I'm also reading the Faraway Tree books and Roald Dahl with my grandchildren. Reading is so cool!
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I got Wintersmith for Christmas, haven't started it yet though.
Mr Pratchett must be worth a fortune going by his popularity on here alone
Ummm, yes. You could say the man is worth a bob or two. A couple of years ago, I think his worldwide sales stood at around 40 million books...
Bought Wintersmith for OH for Christmas and managed to stave off the temptation to read it until he left it unattended on Christmas Night ;D
I have a book in my hand much of the time at home, and there's usually more than one on the go at once... I often put one down at the bottom of the stairs when I go out, and pick it up again at bedtime. Meanwhile, there's another lurking in the kitchen (being read while prepping supper for the triffid tribe) and probably one in the bedclothes from when I fell asleep reading...
Current/recent stuff...
The Egg and I (marvellous, funny old autobiography by an American writer, Betty MacDonald).
Men of Honour (Adam Nicolson's riveting book about Nelson and Trafalgar).
Just starting The Subtle Knife (Philip Pullman) having read Northern Lights back in autumn.
Just finished Tehanu, the fourth book of the Earthsea quartet, which I loved. I read Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea books as a child, when they were still a trilogy; picked this one up in trepidation but it still has LeGuin's magic touch.
Plus a stack of online essays about the nature of light and the latest copy of The Week magazine.
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The Egg and I (marvellous, funny old autobiography by an American writer, Betty MacDonald).
Triffid - I love this book! No-one else I know has even heard of it! Have you read "The Plague and I" by her as well? Funnily enough I just re-read it a month or so ago.
Tabby
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The Egg and I (marvellous, funny old autobiography by an American writer, Betty MacDonald).
Triffid - I love this book! No-one else I know has even heard of it! Have you read "The Plague and I" by her as well? Funnily enough I just re-read it a month or so ago.
Tabby
No, Tabby, I haven't heard of that one. The only other book of hers that I've read (also wonderfully funny) is "Anyone Can Do Anything" . It's the only humorous account I've ever come across of life during the American Depression of the 1930s.
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yay@triff & tabbycat - I've got all three, from charity shops, over the years :D Whenever I felt low about my choice of profession, I picked up Anyone can do Anything, soon put a smile back on my face. Have you come across Onions in the Stew by the same author?
if you can imagine it, Ruth Stout (Queen of Mulch) wrote her books in a very similar style ;D
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Just looked it up, SS -- :) Sounds the perfect cure for all life's little downs.
With Christmas over, I think I'll have to start a 'mummy would like this for her birthday' list ;D
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How can anyone not have read Betty MacDonald??
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Just finished Samuel Pepys biography by Claire Tomalin;a fascinating book. Currently doing 'Olga da Polga' by Michael Bond as bedtime reading.
Thank you to whoever it was that mentioned BB and 'the little grey men' - remember loving those books as a child. Straight over to Amazon for me, I think.
Brendon Chase was one of his classics, too, wasn't it? Wonder what my kids will make of a story about children running away from home/school, taking a rifle with them and then living in the forest trapping and skinning wild animals, collecting birds eggs and so on?
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How can anyone not have read Betty MacDonald??
When I've mentioned her elsewhere, no one else has ever heard of her, Tim!
I began to think that this was a UK-wide problem, and that we were only exempt because we have cousins in Seattle.
That may be why we had the books in the family in the first place (they're not exactly recent editions ;D)
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"Anyone Can Do Anything" . It's the only humorous account I've ever come across of life during the American Depression of the 1930s.
Am going to try and get hold of a copy of this one.
"The Plague and I" is about the author's stay in a TB sanatorium & all the people that she meets there. It's wonderfully funny and heartbreakingly sad at the same time. You can't imagine anyone around today going through it - they'd say their human rights were being well and truely violated! It's an odd subject to write about but it's fantastic. She's so good at seeing the funny side of really terrible situations.
Tabby
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The first book i remember i enjoyed reading as teenager was Arthur C. Clarke's "Lost Worlds"and that was it been a Sci-fi fan ever since,the "Gormenghast trilogy"got me in to fantasy books which i think is as good if not better than "Lord of the rings". Robin Hobb,Fiona McIntosh,George R.R.Martin,&David Eddings are but a few of my favorite Aurthur's.Currently reading book two of the "Tamir Triad"by Lynn Flewelling.For some book bargins take a look at the Greenmetropolis.com i find them very good. :)
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great link froglegs, thank you :)
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Forgot to add Robinson crusoe.I wonder how many lottie holders would survive on a uninhabited island....think i would...if i had me shed....oh and that nice cob shop that does them nice bacon butty's i get on my way to the plot,...yea think would survive. ::)
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Ooh, dangerous link frogslegs, could get carried away on there!
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Resurrection!
So what's everybody reading these days (other than A4A threads!) What's going on your Christmas list - it's only 2 months and 5 days away :P ;D
I'm currently reading Spike Milligan's Rommel? Gunner Who?: A Confrontation in the Desert, the follow up to Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall. They are very, very funny books.
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Ah, good choice! I'm reading Mark Steel, "What's going on?", very thoughtful, funny & well observed politics, family & breakdown based humour.
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Just finished "The Kite Runner", lovely book, wish I had read it when it came out. I didn't want it to end.
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The last two books I have read have been From Here, You Can't See Paris (Michael S. Saunders), Serge Bastarde Ate My Baguette (John Drummer) and I am currently reading Happy Birthday (Christina Jones). After that, Paths of Glory (Jeffrey Archer) - I know he's not everybodys cup of tea......but I like his books.
twinkletoes
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nice one Sam Louise!
Kite Runner, I thought it was superb!
Having had a weeks holiday I took loads to read, but the best by a mile was A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry which was a fascinating, thrilling and interesting read, and when that finished I tucked into a load of old Jeeves and Wooster books ;D
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Just finished "The Kite Runner", lovely book, wish I had read it when it came out. I didn't want it to end.
I loved The Kite Runner too, an excellent book. I also really enjoyed his second book but I can't remember what it's called now!
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I enjoyed Ghost by Robert Harris.
I love crime thrillers, can anyone recommend some?
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Just finished "The Kite Runner", lovely book, wish I had read it when it came out. I didn't want it to end.
I loved The Kite Runner too, an excellent book. I also really enjoyed his second book but I can't remember what it's called now!
A thousand splendid suns - it's on my wish list
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recently read Angels & Demons which i thought was very good, looking forward to Dan Browns next one :)
just started reading Terry Pratchet Discworld books :)
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Squash64 have you read any of Stuart Pawson's D.I.Charlie Priest books? I've enjoyed them all and just started to reread them.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/stuart-pawson/
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A thousand splendid suns - it's on my wish list
[/quote]
PM me your address and I'll send it to you. I read it a couple of years ago and now it's just gathering dust on my shelves! Good story. It makes you understand why we are in Afghanistan.
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Ah, the discworld books are great ;D Still get them out when I want a chuckle...
I know its a bit embarassing, but have just finished reading the Twilight books by Stephanie Meyer, I flicked through the first when my little sister came to stay with it and then couldn't put it down :-[
At the moment have some serious reading to do for my OU degree....
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just read twilight, now on blue moon, my daughter bought them for me for my birthday, also got the new Terry Pratchett and a new Elizabeth Peters ;D
just seen your post, coznbob, snap ;D
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;D
Watch out they get addictive......
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:)
i,m reading
The Princes in the Tower
Alison Weir
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A thousand splendid suns - it's on my wish list
PM me your address and I'll send it to you. I read it a couple of years ago and now it's just gathering dust on my shelves! Good story. It makes you understand why we are in Afghanistan.
grawrc, have you read Three Cups of Tea? I came across it through the Amazon "if you like this, you might also like" function after buying The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns (which I gave to actiongran a few weeks ago and she loved them too), and I did also like it, very much!
I finished The Book Thief recently, and it was one of those books that you never want to end - I really enjoyed it. now looking for something half as good, as I'm in the middle of Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger but I'm not enjoying it very much :(
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grawrc, have you read Three Cups of Tea? I came across it through the Amazon "if you like this, you might also like" function after buying The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns (which I gave to actiongran a few weeks ago and she loved them too), and I did also like it, very much!
I finished The Book Thief recently, and it was one of those books that you never want to end - I really enjoyed it. now looking for something half as good, as I'm in the middle of Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger but I'm not enjoying it very much :(
No, not yet, but it's only a mouse click away!! ;) I'm glad of the The Book Thief recommendation too - one of those books I always meant to read but never got round to.
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Squash64 have you read any of Stuart Pawson's D.I.Charlie Priest books? I've enjoyed them all and just started to reread them.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/stuart-pawson/
No Flighty, but they are on my list now. Thanks :)
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I'm reading "Life isn't all ha ha hee hee" by Meera Syal at the moment. Funny and enlightening. Best book I've read this year is "The Guernsey literary and potato peel society" by Mary Anne Shaffer.
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just awaitin for the OH to finish t.pratchett's latest so I can have a read of it!!
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Anyone going to next year's discworld convention?
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tell us more, anne!!
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what would you go as or should we start another thread ;D
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Just read Maeve Binchy, Echoes, and started on Brick Lane. I love just love my bed and a thick duvet and a good book. I can even read sauce bottles or whatever.
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tell us more, anne!!
Nothing really. Just there seem to be a lot of Terry Pratchett fans.
https://www.dwcon.org/ (https://www.dwcon.org/)
I only know about it because my son did the website. And is going of course!
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Just read Maeve Binchy, Echoes, and started on Brick Lane. I love just love my bed and a thick duvet and a good book. I can even read sauce bottles or whatever.
LOL, that's what I'm like - I can't even eat without reading at the same time.
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Just looked up Three Cups of Tea and it does sound like a good read - so thanks
I loved White Tiger and have bought his 2nd book, but think I'll start on Me Cheeta 1st so I get a bit of variety going with my reading! Besides it sounds hilarious ;D (the authors are listed as James Lever and Cheeta ;) )
1066
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I am a compulsive reader, normally 2/3 books per week, so something to really stand out it must be different. When my brother stumped up the cash to post two large books to me I guessed they would be good. They were brilliant, infact I ordered the third in the trilogy to be posted to me on the day of release.
The series is the Millennium Collection by Steig Larsson, starting with 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornest's Nest'.
The genre is crime / thriller / mystery. If you need a present for someone who likes these sort of books Amazon are doing a deal on all three for £17.45.
Sadlly the authur died after delivering the trilogy to his publisher so there will be no more.
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Not everbodys cup a tea but i'm reading Shadowmarch by Tad Willams.
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Cocopos - I read the 1st one but found I didn't really like the violence, but agree well written thrillers. Not sure I'm going to bother with the others :-\
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The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
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Peter Hamilton's Dreaming Void Trilogy..
Just fininshed Matter by Iain Banks
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Just started The Kite Runner, and The Book Thief is waiting in the wings.
Has anyone read The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale? I tried very hard to read this but I gave up after only a few chapters (a rare event for me) and a friend said she did the the same. If I thought it would improve, I'd give it another go, I hate giving up on a book. :(
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I read 'Gone with the Wind' under my desk at school, probably why I failed some of my exams.
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luved Gone With the Wind.
Get my hand on his 3rd book on friday cocopops, going to try to save it for my christmas read.