Polka Dot Rock

Greetings Kasei! (What a lovely name, by the way!) Aw, we're really glad you found us! I think quite a few of us ended up here after driving family/friends/colleagues to distraction by trying to Talk Books

The only thing I can think of is that they (the overseas publishers) must have a very patronising attitude to their own readers! I can understand for some titles, but how does The Golden Compass make more sense than Northern Lights? Btw, do The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass have different titles in the US?

I guess it would! I love the scenes of the festival taking place on a frozen Thames, with Queen Elizabeth I

Is that about Frances Farmer, Wrath?

Ooh yay! It's nice to know that there's another Buffy fan on here! I love the humour element of Joss Whedon's writing too, and I love that Russell T. Davies nicked, erm - was inspired by Joss's writing style for Doctor Who. (Oh and Mia: in case you didn't see it, I posted a Buffy thread in March )

Fruit of the Lemon Wide Sargasso Sea Those are two novels I really ought to read: I've become really interested in the Caribbean since reading Small Island! Thanks for mentioning them, Rennie

I know! My thoughts exactly! (Are you also a Buffy fan, Mia?) Hopefully, Martha will be allowed to have some, erm, fun in Cardiff after heartbroken-ly trailing around after the Doctor

Welcome to the forum, Becca!

Hello and welcome Natalie!

I know exactly what you mean! I'm curious, but I don't want the films to infect my idea of the books. Also, I'm so annoyed that the producers wouldn't even 'do' a Harry Potter* and change the title back to Northern Lights for the UK release. Why do we have to put up with the naff-sounding US title?! *Just in case anyone isn't aware of this, Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone was changed to Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone in America. But when the film was released, they kept the UK title for the UK release and the American one kept it's 'Sorcerer' tag.

Me too: I think that's why I really like Sarah Waters' novels and I loved The Crimson Petal and The White by Michel Faber: I find different perspectives of the Victorian era fascinating. I recently bought a second-hand copy of Persuasion by A.S Byatt, which is partly set in the (late?) Victorian period. I never thought I was an Historical Fiction fan, but I suppose I must be!!

Hello Laura and welcome!

Hello there Cath You won't be stuck on new authors to try for long: I think we've all got book-related-spending-issues since joining this forum

Hello Stephanie! I know you've already settled on here (feels like you've always been here, in fact!) but just wanted to officially say Howdy!

Hello Nicola! Good to have you with us.

Hello Pamela! Good to have you join us!

Hey there, LW Aw bless! We are an America Friendly forum here (Besides, I love American literature: one of the best literary continents, in my opinion!) Same here! I love e.e. cummings: I even read one of his poems aloud at Christmas. Do you have a favourite? Well, see you there then

Hello and welcome Ruth!

Hell there, Emjays! Glad you found us! Don't worry about having trouble navigating your way around the forum: it took me about 6 months to get used to everything and you can always ask for help Peter Carey is definitely one of those writers that I think "Ooh, I must read something by...". I've always fancied trying Oscar & Lucinda (I think that's Carey), but maybe you could recommend your favourite?

Since I last posted in this thread, I've bought: The White Stripes - Icky Thump (not sure yet, still need to keep listening to it) The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America (not as good as I thought it would be...!) New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom (much better than I thought it would be!)

Hello Elbereth! Oh, I love Orlando! Have you read it before? I hope you don't mind me sticking my opinion in! I just noticed that you have some of my favourite books in your list... The Time Traveler's Wife - I was really surprised by this, but in a brilliant way. It felt really contemporary and 'young', plus it's really stayed with me since reading it last year. Some great characters too! The Crimson Petal and the White - my favourite book of the year so far. I can't articulate how much I love this book. Wise Children and Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter ...Carter is probably my favourite writer, and these are two of her best. Nights at the Circus is suitably weird and has one of my favourite literary characters in Fevvers. But I think Wise Children is my favorite of hers: so funny, bawdy and completely joyful. It's so full of life! So sad that it was her last book... But what a finale! Have you read any other Angela Carter novels/stories? I read this at the end of last year ( and finished it this year!) and I loved it. It's such an enjoyable novel, isn't it? It really makes me laugh, too.

He he... Thank Paula! I'm not feeling up to my usual Evil Book Genius standard, I must say. But I'm going to try and read in small chunks and I may soon get it back...

What a great idea for a thread Judy! It makes me feel like I can finally find a use for my blog ratings Ooh Jules! You beat me to it! The Crimson Petal & The White is definitely my favourite of the year so far. To be honest, I can't imagine reading another book that could beat it this year! Other personal highlights: One Good Turn - Kate Atkinson The Girls - Lori Lansens The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons Disobedience - Naomi Alderman The Tenderness of Wolves - Stef Penney

List Updated I've had a slow reading week: it seems that it's my turn to lose my Reading Mojo (oh no!). I decided to give up on Regeneration as I just wasn't enagaged with it at all. Which is a shame, but it happens. However, I've been making up for it in other ways: I watched my DVD of the recent Jane Eyre BBC adaptation which is a fantastic version of my favourite novel. Then I accidentally discovered that Tsitsi Dangarembga has finally published the sequel to my other favourite book, Nervous Conditions! I was randomly searching for African literature and I stumbled across The Book of Not: Stopping the Time. It turns out that it's actually the long-awaited second part of Tambu's journey into adulthood. And it's only taken Dangarembga nearly 20 years to write it! Needless to say, it should be arriving here soon The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa (trans. Daniel Hahn) arrived on Thursday and I'm really looking forward to reading a novel narrated by a gecko(!). But before that, I've embarked on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's debut novel, Purple Hibiscus. Promising (and very intense!) start; it really reminds of Nervous Conditions, coincidentally!

Sadly, I've just given up on Regeneration by Pat Barker. Again, I realised I wasn't at all curious about what was happening so have abandoned it. Only thing is, now I'm totally stuck about what to read next, as I feel strangely demotivated. Pants...