~Andrea~

Hi Lauren. Welcome to the site

I fancy a few of those myself. Have often toyed with the idea of Iain Banks too.

I have now finished both of these and I thought they were fangtastic. Oh come on, someone had to say it. Dracula is by far the more sophisticated novel, being longer with more fully developed characters etc. My favourite parts were I think The first half of the book up to was all excellent. I loved the Lucy Westenra bit of the story but had to skim read From that point on the story lost momentum for me and didn't really pick up again until the grand finale. I think if the third quarter of the book had been trimmed a little and given more pace it would have been almost perfect. Although I also found the first half was creepier than the second half, especially the count. He was creepier for me when he was a more subtle monster than when he was presented in full grotesque glory (the way things are more scary out of the corner of your eye than in direct line of vision) For example I also enjoyed the noble hearts of the characters and the good old fashioned battle of good against evil. Carmilla was also thoroughly enjoyable. I found it a much lighter easier read in some ways. (I read it when Dracula was flagging a bit). It was less creepy but still quite creepy. The sexuality was more overt and shocking in Carmilla. At the beginning with As others have mentioned Carmilla also left me with the same unanswered questions. I found Carmilla a very interesting character enjoyable to read. I enjoyed the strong female characters in both of these books.

Finally finished Dracula. It has a very gripping ending. Really enjoyed it although the third quarter of the novel dragged a little for me. Next - Anne of Green Gables. Looking forward to this one. I'm hoping it's going to be light, cheerful and uplifting.

No I haven't got mine either. Don't worry it's six weeks from when you get it as far as I remember :eek2:

So you rate David Mitchell then I don't think i've read enough contemporary fiction to do this. Its one of my aims for next year - to keep my reading up to date.

The dark spots have been less of a problem lately, it was only when I first had it really. You may be right, since I don't water it much (only when its really drooping) and its in quite a sunny position.

Today when I was in Tesco I couldn't resist picking up the following two books (both novels by celebrity authors) Murder Most Fab - Julian Clary. This seems to be the "confessions of a celebrity light entertainer" who got where he is today by means of murder. I read the first couple of paragraphs and it looks well written and funny. I would consider buying it. Crystal - Katie Price. Yes she has written a novel! I was quite surprised and picked it thinking, well let's give it a chance and not pre-judge. Oh my, it is very badly written. The first two pages are full of cliched, amateurish 'telling' style writing. It annoys me that because someone is a celeb they can get published when I bet there are much better novels out there unpublished because the writer, even though more talented, is unknown.

Hi Lucie, welcome to the boards

Hi FA nice to meet you. Welcome to the site, look forward to chatting with you.

I always thought golliwogs were racist

Oh I see! Sorry Steffie.

Maybe there is still time to get one. Go on, you know you want to.

Thanks Andy, that's very encouraging.

I'm looking forward to reading this some day. Trouble is I can't decide whether to go for the abridged or unabridged. I think the abridged is 800 odd pages. I'll be interested to know how you get on. Good luck!

Thanks for your responses both! That's very intersting. Shame that the brains behind a book actually may see so little of it! Kerri - sorry you have CFS - its amazing that you have been able to write a novel then! I know a few people with that type of thing and I know it's no fun. Thanks for taking time to chat with us. And that goes for you too samantha.

The classic vampire reading did inspire me to look up the vampire myth on wikipedia. That's generally the level of my non fiction reading though, a quick internet search. Was very interesting though.

Yea. The opening is very strong though isn't it. Maybe that's the problem, you just can't sustain that kind of pace and drama for an entire novel. I am hoping it will pick up again though. Finished Carmilla (7/10). Very enjoyable. Much less scary than dracula, creepy more than horrifying. I will save my thoughts for the reading circle thread I think.

Spag bol? Many pasta dishes are fairly simple and straight forward. Some stir fried vegetables (Onions, mushrooms, peppers etc) bung in a bit of pesto, add a side salad for example. I agree, buffet/salad type dinners are always good in this weather and for guests who can pick and choose what they like. Cold meats and cheeses with salady bits, pate and bread etc

Dracula has started to drag a little I'm sorry to say. I think I have lost a little momentum what with not having the opportunity to read much at various points over the past week. So yesterday I started Carmilla. Its a very enjoyable, light and quick little story. I am about half way through and seems to be just the job while I'm in my Dracula slump.

Oh gosh thats terrible!! I hope that's not the long term outcome of all your hard work! Would it be cheeky of me to ask what percentage of a book sale goes to the author? And is that what you mean by royalties?

Ooh I wouldn't mind yours Judy, I'd be quite interested to read Kierkegaard. I think he's the father of existentialist thinking, but from a non athiest perspective, where later existentialist thought tends to be more atheistic. (I think, so don't quote me on that ) Mine is "Selected Writings" which could be any of 5 works of that title! It it turns out to be one I'm not interested in I might be tempted to do a swap with you (not sure you would prefer any of my options to yours though)

Brilliant! I've never seen that but have always wanted to. I'll have to add it to my TBW (To be watched) list

Yay a response to my sad little lonely post Hmm, interesting. I think they might be spider mites and I think you may be right. A quick google search seems to confirm. I'm not sure about introducing more bugs into my house though Maybe I will just but my parsley in bunches from the supermarket in future!

Thanks for the link! "Hinton was 15 when she began writing the novel and 18 when it was published." I didn't realise that, I'm impressed! And I see she also wrote Rumble Fish! Didn't know that either - its a great film. I'm going to have to read the book now.