Purple Princess

Hi Frankie, he's kind of hard to describe to be honest! I think basically he is a man who just says completely what is on his mind - most of the time it's stupid things. Ricky Gervais kind of discovered him on a radio show a while ago so with the help of Sky TV they sent him abroad to various locations and made him do things that they knew he would hate. He hates change and different food and he doesn't appear to like anything cultural so when they sent him to China or India he was just so funny with his reactions to both the food and the differnet people. I'm not sure if I would recommend it to someone who doesn't know him as you might not understand his dry humour and to be honest it doesn't reveal alot about travelling the world, it's just a collection of random stupid stories where he gets himself into random situations and they happen to be based around his holidays. Quite a few of the stories happen here in the UK as well - it's upto you though if you fancy giving it a go....hope that helps you!

Watched Love and Other Drugs the other day. Thought it was a bit weird - just Anne Hathaway naked for the majority of it!

I tried reading the first vampire diary book when the first series was on TV but I just couldn't get into it. I think it was because the characters on the TV are quite different from in the books and I couldn't imagine them properly when I was reading, if that makes any sense! So I gave up in the end and just stuck to the TV show

I think here in the UK we're upto the same episode as you are because we went on season break before Chistmas too. I've had a look to see when it will be back on again but can't find anything but if it's back on in America on the 27th hopefully it won't be too much longer after that til it's on over here again. I'm really loving this series. Although I liked the first series too I just think the second series has been fantastic

Thanks everyone

Hi Sleepy Reader, I hope you enjoy the BCF

You seem to have quite similar reading tastes to me looking at your list. I have read a few and a couple stood out for me as ones I particularly enjoyed: The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger, A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini, Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen and the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series. Good luck making a dent in your TBR pile in 2011

Thanks guys, I just hope I can make a dent in it this year. Last year I had many of these on my shelf but I always get distracted and end up buying new ones or borrowing ones that catch my eye in the library

I've been continuing with The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson today, some of it is a little difficult to read due to the indepth descriptions of medical conditions, but I'm around a third of the way through and am totally hooked.

Spare post just in case

TBR books on my bookcase on 1st January 2011: Fear - Jeff Abbott Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards The Sinner - Tess Gerritsen Notes on a Scandel - Zoe Heller I'm Watching You - Karen Rose The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest - Stieg Larsson Grave Sight - Charlaine Harris Grave Surprise - Charlaine Harris An Ice Cold Grave - Charlaine Harris Blood Born - Kathryn Fox The Abortionist's Daughter - Elisabeth Hyde Life of Pi - Yann Martel Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell 6th Target - James Patterson 7th Heaven - James Patterson London Bridges - James Patterson Northern Lights - Philip Pullman The Interpretation of Murder - Jed Rubenfeld The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver The Understudy - David Nicholls Cathedral - Nelson DeMille The Charm School - Nelson DeMille Misery - Stephen King Pet Sematary - Stephen King Carrie - Stephen King The Other Hand - Chris Cleave A Cold Heart - Jonathan Kellerman PS I Love You - Cecelia Ahern For One More Day - Mitch Albom Plea of Insanity - Jilliane Hoffman The Legacy - Katherine Webb The Man Who Disappeared - Clare Morrall Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine Lord of Misrule - Rachel Caine Carpe Corpus - Rachel Caine A Lifetime Burning - Linda Gillard Breakneck - Erica Spindler The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd

Cover the Mirrors by Faye L Booth, synopsis from Amazon: It is 1856 and Spiritualism is at the height of its popularity. Molly Pinner has left behind her childhood in the Preston slums and inherited her late aunt Florrie’s mantle as Preston’s most successful medium. It soon becomes clear that her aunt was something far more cunning than a magnet for the spirits of the dead, but Molly puts aside her qualms and takes well to her new trade. Molly’s relationship with her oldest friend, Jenny, is jeopardized when she begins a passionate affair with local businessman William Hamilton. Before she knows it, Molly finds herself married to a man she cannot love, and pregnant with a child she does not want. In desperation, she makes a decision that will cast her relationship with William in a completely new light. Trapped and traumatized, and longing to regain her friendship with Jenny, Molly is about to receive a blow that will turn her life upside down. It seems Aunt Florrie lied about more than just her ability to commune with the dead: a truth hidden for years is about to emerge, and it will threaten not only Molly’s livelihood, but her very life. Cover The Mirrors is a dark and zesty historical novel of distorted truths and suppressed Victorian desires. I picked this book up randomly in the library as I liked the blurb on the back, it is a little different from what I usually read but I am attempting to include a little bit of historical fiction in my reading. To be honest I was half expecting a ghost story but there were no ghosts in this book, instead there was some quite unexpected sex scenes, but they were very nicely written. This book isn't really about spiritulism, it's more about Molly and her life. The relationships Molly has with her husband, her best friend and her Aunt form the main focus of the story and are very interesting as to be honest I know very little about life in Victorian England. I found it a lovely read that was very well written and obviously well researched, I wouldn't rave about it but it did keep me interested and I did enjoy it. 8.5/10

Happyslapped by a Jellyish by Karl Pilkington, synopsis from Amazon: A hilarious guide to travelling, from the man behind The World of Karl Pilkington; one of our most innovative thinkers, visionaries and prophets, or as Ricky Gervais knows him, 'the funniest man alive in Britain today'. Pack your suitcase and take an irreverent trip with the unlikely star of The Ricky Gervais Podcast Show, Karl Pilkington, to the furthest corners of Europe. From sunbathing in t-shirts and lizards the length of Toblerones, to a toxic apartment in Ibiza with a used loo that can't be flushed; these witty musings could put you off travelling forever! Gain insight into the curious life of this comic genius from pithy anecdotes. Find out about his mum's obsession with keeping gnomes indoors and his experiences getting high on dope chocolate, to his childhood dentist who filled his perfect back teeth to give them extra protection. Featuring Pilkington's original illustrations and imaginative scribblings. This is an extremely unusual book for me to read, it is very very rare that I read anything other than fiction. I picked this up when someone at work leant it to my boyfriend and found I just couldn't put it down. If anybody watched the An Idiot Abroad series on Sky One which starred Karl Pilkington they will quickly realise that the way in which this book is written feels just as if Karl is speaking directly to you. The anecdotes are very funny and you can actually imagine that some of the situations would only ever happen to someone like Karl. Overall a very differnt book for me to read but found it hillarious and enjoyed it immensely. 10/10

Someone Else's Son by Sam Hayes, synopsis from Amazon: A tense and powerful emotional thriller from Sam Hayes that asks: Do we ever really know our children? 'What would you do if your teenage son was stabbed to death at school?' That's a question chat-show host Carrie Kent can well imagine posing to any one of her studio guests. Her daily morning TV show deals with real life in all it's grubby glory - from underage sex to benefit swindlers, cheating partners to DNA testing. It's a million miles away from her perfect, polished existence. But when she gets a call to say that her beloved son Max has been murdered, Carrie and her ex-husband Brody will have to enter a world of poverty, fear and violence if they want to find out what really happened. And when the shocking truth is finally revealed, will they be able to live with it...? I have read all of Sam Hayes books so far so was very much looking forward to reading her newest offering. The style of writing in this book is very similar to her previous books and I love the way she draws the reader in, her writing flows so naturally and just makes you want to continue reading. The way the story moves around between the different main characters in the book also compels you to continue reading but is written in such a way as to not cause any confusion. The storyline in this book was very harrowing and I'm sure some parts would be extremely difficult for someone with teenage children to read. It is very sad that someone like Max who could have anything he wanted had such an unhappy life due to the non-exsistent communication with his parents. The police investigation following the stabbing brings a twist to the story in the traditional Sam Hayes fashion. Overall the characters in the book were very believable and the story very poignant but beatifully written. 9.5/10

Finished a couple of books recently, firstly Dead In The Family by Charlaine Harris, synopsis from Amazon: If you think your family relationships are complicated, think again: you haven't seen anything like the ones in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie Stackhouse is dealing with a whole host of family problems, ranging from her own kin (a non-human fairy and a telepathic second cousin) demanding a place in her life, to her lover Eric's vampire sire, an ancient being, who arrives with Eric's 'brother' in tow at a most inopportune moment. And Sookie's tracking down a distant relation of her ailing neighbour (and ex), Vampire Bill Compton. In addition to the multitude of family issues complicating her life, the werewolf pack of Shreveport has asked Sookie for a special favour, and since Sookie is an obliging young woman, she agrees. But this favour for the wolves has dire results for Sookie, who is still recovering from the trauma of her abduction during the Fairy War. This is the tenth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series and with this series I think you really need to read them in order as this book continues right where the ninth book finished and the storylines frequently mention things that happened in previous books so you wouldn't understand some parts of the story if you started with this book. I think maybe this book lacked some of action that was in the previous books but I did like the story overall. Sookie was still recovering fro the injuries she received in the ninth book and I liked the way the author just didn't skim over her injuries and involve her in more energetic storylines instantly. This book did seem to explore the more emotional side of Sookie and her relationship with Eric. I liked how in this book we actually got to go inside Eric's house which I think says a lot about how important her relationship with Eric has become. I didn't really enjoy the storyline that involved Eric's maker and brother coming to visit him, I found it a bit of a pointless sub-plot but apart from that I enjoyed the reat of the book even though it had a more relaxed pace than she usually writes with. At some points in the book I did feel as if she was wrapping loose ends up and I'm unsure whether she is wrapping up the series or if she is maybe just getting ready for the next book in the series. Overall I did enjoy the book but perhaps not as much as some of her previous ones 9/10