Esiotrot

What Ever Love Means by David Baddiel ~ Abandoned Synopsis Like most people, Vic Mullan - once described by his best friend Joe as 'a man whose sense of social responsibility is exhausted by pulling over to let an ambulance by' - can remember where he was and what he was doing on the day of Princess Diana's death. Yes, he can remember it particularly well: he was at home, beginning an affair with Emma, Joe's wife. The opening sections of David Baddiel's second novel chart the history of an intense and passionately sexual liaison set against the background of the most hysterical time in recent memory. But as the months wear on, and life and love return to normal, so things become more complex between Vic and Emma. And then, tragedy - a real, local, small-scale tragedy, as opposed to a national, iconic, mythological one - intervenes. Part-satire, part-love story, part-whodunnit, and part-meditation on the nature of sex and death, WHATEVER LOVE MEANS confirms Nick Hornby's assertion that David Baddiel has 'gone straight into the First Eleven of young contemporary British novelists'. It takes a lot for me to abandon a book - I am very thrawn and get annoyed with myself for not completing things. I took this book out of the charity shop pile twice befor deciding but I just couldnt take it any more - there are too many good books out there waiting for me to spend time on this. The characters are uninteresting, the plot non existant (I ditched after 1/3) the writing over indulgently descriptive and I felt the author was very patronising to his readers. Sorry David but not for me, I hope the new owner from the charity shop likes it.

Hi Diane ~ I have Emotionally Weird and Case Histories, will maybe try Case Histories first and see if I prefer the mystery type instead. K x

Hi Diane ~ I am so relieved to hear I am not the only one who wasnt bowled over by 'Museum'. Have you read any more books by Kate Atkinson? I have 2 more in Mount TBR but am now unsure if they will ever make it to the top. k x

Finished Lullaby by Claire Seeber ~ a good psychological thriller for her first novel. I have chosen Whatever Love Means by David Baddiel to read next.

Lullaby by Claire Seeber ~ 4/5 Synopsis What should have been a happy family day out quickly becomes a nightmare! The chilling debut from a bright new talent. What should have been a happy family day out quickly turns into a nightmare for Jess Finnegan. One minute she is thankful for a few minutes' peace away from the demands of motherhood. The next she is frantically searching for husband Mickey and 8-month old Louis.They have disappeared, nowhere to be seen. As the police launch a massive manhunt, Jess's panic intensifies. Then Mickey is found, badly beaten - and alone. Where is Louis? Is he still alive? Could he be the victim of child trafficking or something much closer to home? Just how well does Jess know her new husband? And when her wayward brother turns up out of the blue, what is he after? As the investigation unravels, Jess discovers that the people closest to you are not always what they seem! Review

Read 200 pages of Lullaby by Claire Seeber yesterday and really enjoying it.

I would highly recommend Fingersmith - I really enjoyed it, my favourite book this year so far! The devil is in the detail and Sarah Waters nails it ~ I love her writing style and the pace of the story is spot on. I cant say much about it the plot without spoiling it but suffice to say I think anyone interested should give it a go. I am now coveting the rest of her back catalogue despite promising myself not to buy any more books until Mount TBR is down by at least 25. Considering a TBR cull to make room.

Behind The Scenes At The Museum by Kate Atkinson ~ 3/5 Synopsis Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty and born while her father, George, was in the Dog and Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress and a D-cup that he wasn't married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but here she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible and sardonic Patrica aged five, greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored, and Ruby...Ruby tells the story of The Family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice and her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, and memorable events of Ruby's own life. Review This book came very highly recommended to me and I feel almost sad to admit I wasnt bowled over. I enjoyed the main story but found the footnotes began to get confusing as I lost track of which generation was being recalled and who cousins, aunts, uncles were. This led to a lot of backtracking through pages (a family tree in the back of the book would have been helpful) which reduced my enjoyment and I had to really push myself to finish it.

black potato ~ mashed or roasted?

Loving Fingersmith - actually a bit sorry my daughter is off on school hols as I really want to read This is quite near the top of my Mount TBR so will be looking out for your opinion on it. k x

Hi Heather ~ thanks for the reply - I hope you are well. I found We Need To Talk About Kevin quite tough going for personal reasons and had to read it in stages, with other books in between- in fact I still have a bit left to finish. I feel like I have under rated this book a bit as my judgment was clouded, I have friends who absolutely raved about it and I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy it and probably rate it higher than I have. Re. Martina Cole ~ I also have another 5 on Mount TBR ( http://www.librarything.com/profile/Esiotrot ) The Graft is the first MC I have read and TBH I have read better books but lots of the reviews The Graft mention its not one of her best so I will definitely try more. Have you read any MC previously? kx

Now I am worried ~ my crushes are so weird no one has even commented

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters ~ 5/5 Synopsis 'We were all more or less thieves at Lant Street. But we were that kind of thief that rather eased the dodgy deed along, than did it . We could pass anything, anything at all, at speeds which would astonish you. There was only one thing, in fact, that had come and got stuck - one thing that had somehow withstood the tremendous pull of that passage - one thing that never had a price put to it. I mean of course, Me.' Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, is born among petty thieves - fingersmiths - in London's Borough. From the moment she draws breath, her fate is linked to another orphan, growing up in a gloomy mansion not too many miles away ... Review A fantastic book, my favourite book this year so far! The devil is in the detail and Sarah Waters nails it ~ I love her writing style and the pace of the story is spot on. I cant say much about it the plot without spoiling it but suffice to say I think anyone interested should give it a go.

Agree on Catcher In The Rye and The Great Gatsby - can see how in their day they were exciting ~ but IMHO now its night. kx

Up to page 190 in Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - what a twist!!!

The Talented Mr Ripley

About 120 pages into Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and despite not usually liking historical fiction I am really enjoying it. kx

Just watched The Door on ITV - if you mix The Krypton Factor, I'm a Celeb, The Crystal Maze and the Saw movies you get the general idea. Basically humiliating and scaring 'celebs' (ahem!) for entertainment, the show is fronted by the extra scary coupling of Chris Tarrant and Amanda Holden.

David Bowie please oooh and Michael Keaton Strangest crush would have to be Paddy Maguire from Shameless - sooo manly!

Finished this yesterday, there is a review in my reading list ~ http://bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=12255 HTH k x

Finished The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh last night and started Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - at 548 pages its the biggest book I have tackled in a while. k x

Roddy Doyle

Dorothy Koomson

The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh ~ 3.5/5 Synopsis When Rilke, a dissolute and promiscuous auctioneer comes upon a hidden collection of violent, and highly disturbing photographs, he feels compelled to unearth more about the deceased owner who coveted them. What follows is a compulsive journey of discovery, decadence and deviousness. Review I picked up this book in a charity shop and decided to buy it based on the many awards it has won and the fact it was 50p! Personally I think I am pretty broad minded but I found myself raising my eyebrows on a few occasions while reading The Cutting Room. I expected a gritty Glaswegian thriller type mystery but got a bit more. Yes, in the main it is a mystery set in Glasgow but this book also has a much darker erotic side with some graphic passages describing 'snuff' photos, pornography and homosexual encounters. The authors intention is clearly to shock the reader and display her originality in character creation but I felt that some of the description passages went a bit far. (referring to the 2 pages of gay and lesbian condemnation found by Rilke). I dont have a huge amount of experience of tartan noir - just Stuart McBride - but as a mystery novel I found the book entertaining and intriguing. The story loses itself a bit in the middle and there are some additional characters which dont add much but its a good read. Overall I am glad I read it, but not sure I would rush to read anything else by the same author.

Ooo ~ I will keep an eye open for your thoughts on Private Dancer, your the first person I have come across who has it on their list. I enjoyed it, it changed my perceptions of Thai bar girls and I found learning about a their culture and different priorities really interesting. The book is based on real people/ places and is often described as a 'must read' for visitors to Thailand. Off to research Countess Dracula now..... k x