Parenthesis

Great interview, Michelle. Interesting and informative. I'm looking forward to the entire series of interviews from the publishing viewpoint. It'll be beneficial to many to have an insight into the process and people that oversee a book from a manuscript to a reader's hand. All too often we pick up a book without giving an iota of thought to what went into getting that book to print and to the a discerning reader.

I'm awaiting the arrival of Cold Granite after my purchase of it last week. This is one series I am eagerly anticipating after reading many favourable reviews. Stuart MacBride's protagonist Logan McRae looks to be a character that I'm going to adore.

Copper Down by The Boy Who Trapped The Sun. Soothing and beautiful.

I was speaking to the proprietor of my local bookshop last week and he said the books are flying off the shelves, so much so that they're hard pressed to keep their stock topped up. The trilogy isn't really on my to read radar.

Hello, Vodkafan. I have the strongest feeling that the list I posted will change greatly over the coming months. I find most things that Kurt Vonnegut wrote are worth the read. Without giving too much away, what did you think of Never Let Me Go? I have read Shame, it is the reason I want to follow on with Daughters of Shame. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to walk in the shoes of Jasvinder Sanghera or indeed, your ex-wife. I found Shame a haunting, poignant read and at the same time inspirational and uplifting.

In my absence I finally(!) finished A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson--review posted tomorrow. Today I read 21 pages of a study related book Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice by Rob White. Hoping to find some time for leisure reading tomorrow...well, one can hope!

Hello, Kidsmum! All four books were added to my 'Want To Read' list due to recommendations from others...hopefully they'll all live up to their words of recommendation. I have heard only good things about Cloudstreet, and I understand that it was made into a mini series, though I have not had the pleasure of viewing it. A close friend recommended Cloudstreet to me, she's a huge Tim Winton fan and holds all his books in high esteem.

Illness restricted my reading over the weekend and I only managed a paltry one chapter of A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It is such a short book, but I feel as though I've been reading it forever.

Audiobooks have been a godsend to me and my household! Having a son that is both visually and physically impaired that has a great love of literature, audiobooks have been a great alternative to always physically reading to him. Over the years they have given me time to myself and to attend to my other two children's needs. I have also found them handy on long road trips and a solace during bouts of insomnia.

I give a wide berth to anything that looks (or reads) remotely like Mills and Boon, Silhouette, Barbara Cartland, and Stephanie Meyer. *shudder*

I had to wade through a rather lengthy (and ever growing) list of books that I want to read, however, after many changes of mind and heart, dithering, umming and ahhing I was finally able to the whittle the list down to the books listed below. I have long wanted to revisit some of the classics, hence several 'rereads' added to my list. There are many and varied reasons to each book choice on my list...everything from recommendations to sheer whimsy. Book List 2012 Cloudstreet - Tim Winton The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro Detective - Arthur Hailey My Left Foot - Christy Brown The Lifeboat - Charlotte Rogan The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver Shades Of Grey - Jasper Fforde Daughters of Shame - Jasinder Sanhera The Sound of One Hand Clapping - Richard Flanagan Red Mist - Patricia Cornwell The Gift of Rain - Tan Twan Eng The Schopenhauer Cure - Irvin Yalom Cold Granite - Stuart McBride (and subsequent sequels) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Marianne Shaffer and Annie Barrows Winter's Bone - Daniel Woodrell The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett S'pose I Die: The Evelyn Maunsell Story - Hector Holthouse Firefly Summer - Maeve Binchy Gallipoli - Les Carlyon The Merchant’s House - Kate Ellis (and as many of the complete Peterson series as practical) Tobacco Road - Erskine Caldwell Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld (Though classified as young adult fiction my interest in the Steampunk movement has me wanting to read this book) The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling (when released in the latter part of the year) Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut (reread) The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (reread) Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand (reread) The Silmarillion - J.R.R Tolkien (reread) The Myth of Sisyphus - Albert Camus (reread) And remember, it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind! Note: I also read to my son so I had to take into account time taken reading my son's books when considering how many books to list of my own. Perhaps I should list the books I read to him as 'books read', too...

My reading record for a shortened 2012: May A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. June July August September October November December

Like most things in my life my hobbies are eclectic. - reading (naturally) - writing - studying (being a never-ending student can become addictive) - astronomy - photography - movies (I'm a huge cinephile) - horse riding - hiking and camping - canoeing and water skiing - gaming - and a longstanding hobby with its roots in my teenage years, drumming. Two new hobbies to my collection; I have just taken up archery (hopefully no one will be mortally wounded in my efforts to master this newest hobby), and I shall be adding blogging in the next couple of weeks.

You sound just like my daughter! She has a fondness for Daniel Vettori's...err...not his cricketing talents. A similar story with Brett Lee. *rolls eyes* Although her choice of favourite cricketer (Steve Waugh) does give me some sense of assurance that her prepubescent indoctrination into the world of cricket has her admiring more than a past or present players aesthetics, lol. That made me literally lol! I do so miss the 'Dominator' days with the Waughs, McGrath, Gilchrist, Hayden, Langer, Lee and co. Some great cricket...especially the Australia V's South Africa during the Oz summer. *sigh of reminiscence*

With a very distracted day I only managed to read five pages of my current read, A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Oh well, tomorrow is another reading opportunity.