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TammyRich

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Everything posted by TammyRich

  1. Hi - in a similar vein is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly written by the editor-in-chief of a French magazine who had a massive stroke and was completely paralysed He was diagnosed with 'locked-in' syndrome where the only communication he could make was by blinking one of his eyes. He wrote the book by doing this. It's a concise but riveting read. Tammy
  2. The Hobbit film is great - highly recommend it. Usual prob tho, I spent most of the film trying to work out how true to the book it was and now I'm torn between re-reading the book or waiting til the other 2 come out so as not to spoil them for myself.

  3. I'm convinced that the questions on Celebrity Mastermind are easier than usual. I've therefore concluded that the only way I can win Mastermind is to become a celebrity.

    1. Chrissy

      Chrissy

      They are a bit easier aren;t they? Go on then - get your celebrity status and give it a go. Are we thinking scandal or Oscar?

    2. Ben

      Ben

      Definitely a bit easier.

    3. Devi

      Devi

      Just remember us when you are rich and famous! ;)

  4. Watching UP - how come a simple opening sequence of an animated movie can bring a tear to my eye? What a soppy thing I am!

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. Chrissy

      Chrissy

      I love 'Up' - I can't see a squirrel without chuckling. lol

    3. Karsa Orlong

      Karsa Orlong

      That opening montage is incredibly moving. Even when I saw it in 3D and was struggling with the glasses, lol!

    4. karen.d

      karen.d

      It is a very moving opening sequence, it's just a lovely film in general in my opinion.

  5. My mobile phone has gone AWOL :(

  6. Early start this morning.Off on the 7.30 train to see my folks on the Wirral "I don't care what the weather man says, if the weather man says it's raining" :)

    1. poppyshake

      poppyshake

      He did say it was raining didn't he? :( Hope your journey went well, have fun.

  7. Back to work for one day tomorrow then weekend. Then one day of work New Years Eve then rest of the week off. Doesn't seem right.

    1. Chrissy

      Chrissy

      But it does mean you can feel virtuous! Enjoy that one day if you can. : )

  8. Bored. Any suggestions?

    1. bobblybear

      bobblybear

      Oddee.com It always keeps me entertained.

    2. Chrissy

      Chrissy

      Read! Or are you the kind of bored I get sometimes where even a book won't entertain? : )

  9. I have a Sony e-reader and have so far been able to use it to download everything I want to.I buy books from Waterstones or the Kobo websites. I've also downloaded from Google books and more. I got it because I don't like the way Amazon monopolize everything bookish be it physical books or e-books and deliberately didn't want to buy a Kindle. Interestingly my local library 'lends' out e-books but you can't 'borrow' them on Kindles!!!
  10. Hello, I hope you don't mind me putting my review of Casual Vacancy on - I wrote it for the website Goodreads - after reading Casual Vacancy which I bought eagerly being a big fan of Harry Potter. I found it a disappointment and I just wanted to show there are other viewpoints to the first written. I know several people who gave up on the book. I haven't put a synopsis of the story as you have it above; One of the problems with this book is the same problem that JKR had with the last Harry Potter book. It is too long, too detailed and I just wanted her to get on with the story. Because she is a successful author with all the time in the world on her hands she is free to write as much as she likes, put a plethora of characters into her novel, pad it out with unnecessary scenes and descriptions and her editor is happy to leave them all in and let her get away with them. All through reading it I was itching to get out a big red pen and circle parts of it, cross bits out and scribble all over it. Another problem is she has come from writing fantasy and all the characters and situations are on the side of fantastical. The characters are larger than life and exaggerations so much so I found them all irritating. I was unable to sympathize or relate to any of them. Again the events and situations were extreme and unrealistic. JKR seemed to use the book to show as many different examples of unsavoury human behaviour as she could fit in, as well as swearing and sex, just to prove that she is capable of writing an adult book. And yet the subject matter is so dull. If you are going to write about what is a rather boring subject - small town politics at least make it pacy and quick moving but because of her detail and excessive scene setting she loses so many readers early on. I was tempted to give up several times but persisted because I wanted to see if she could finish it satisfactorily and sadly she doesn't. It ends very downbeat and annoying. If you haven't bought it yet, don't waste your money on a hardback. If you have it will make a good doorstop. Just wanted to reassure anyone else who is finding it hard going that they are not alone!
  11. People shouldn't go leaving around tins of Roses before Christmas dinner-resistance is futile.

  12. Agreed - Shardlake is a great character and the stories are good too. But what actor would be prepared to made up as a hunchback? He is after all only about 40 so it would have to be a youngish one. (Being 41 myself I still think of 40 as young!). Another character who I'm surprised no American channel has picked up on yet is Lee Child's Jack Reacher. Not sure I would want them to unless it was done really well with a quality actor.
  13. I am currently reading this book and it is one of the best books I have read in a long time. One of the best things about it and what Mantel is undoubtedly gifted in is she takes what could have been a quite boring subject and weaves a detailed and intriguing back story for Cromwell. Most of it must be imagined and embroidered by her such as the dialogue and the descriptions but she makes it so believable that she has me hooked. Cromwell appeared to me a boring character from the Tudor period being I thought either a politician or a churchman unlike Anne Boleyn or Henry VIII or Elizabeth I etc but I am now fascinated. 6/10 is way too low. Can't think what else this person reads to give it a 6/10. They have obviously never read any really bad books.
  14. I'm really sad too. He was a great author - one of my favourites - really original. I always looked forward to his books.
  15. Hi!

     

    I'm fine - just had an afternoon off work! What about you?

  16. Knowing the price cutting exercises of the big booksellers/supermarkets it'll probably be really cheap at the tills. I'll probably get someone to give it me for Christmas or pick it up with a gift voucher or Christmas money.
  17. I re-read Deathly Hallows about 2 months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it as I read it at such a pace when it first came out that I did not take it in. There was so much to enjoy and to understand. I will have to read them again one after another. I will probably do it before the next film. When is the Tales of Beedle the Bard out? And will others get it? Or is it out already?
  18. If you want to get rid of a load of books in one go I would back the Freecycle idea too. If you are happy getting rid of them bit by bit the dropping them off here there and everywhere idea is great. Oxfam also has book banks you can drop books off at usually in the same places as other recycling centres but I always find the slots annoyingly small so you have to bag the books up in small amounts.
  19. Black Swan Green by David Mitchell was set about when I was teenager. That reminded me of loads of stuff when I was the same age. I think his character was a tad older than me but all the stuff was familiar to me. A great read for any teenager of the 80s.
  20. I usually don't mean to watch it - then end up watching bits but get ashamed of myself and stop again. Last year however it just got awful especially at the start with the all women house. Hope they don't do anything like that to start with...
  21. I feel as though I have been plodding very slowly through books this year. So far I have read 9 completely and given up on 3. Highlights I think have included I am Legend - see Book Ring threads! and the Tenderness of Wolves. Looking back to 2007 however I had only read 9 by this point anyway so perhaps I am not so slow after all!
  22. Hi Slim - welcome to the forum. I saw the film first then read the book and the two should really be taken as seperate entities in my opinion. I enjoyed the book more which is excellent sci-fi/fantasy/horror writing and very compulsive. So much is different in the film you would probably find it really annoying unless you were prepared to accept them as different - e.g. the film is set in Manhatten, New York!
  23. I found myself watching Casualty a few years ago and there was a guy who had been in the same year at school as my sister and lived round the corner as us when I was a kid - Vincenzo Pellegrino . Not very well known to others but got a really distinctive name!
  24. I'm looking forward to it too but I'm glad I've read it already as I've got the characters in my head already and it will be fun comparing how I imagine them to be and how other people interpret them. Very sad about Anthony Minghella though. Still I'm sure it will be a fitting tribute.
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