Jackdaw

Thank you poppyshake and ian I shall check them out ! I liked the film "Stand by me" (with baby Wil Wheaton and River Phoenix !) is it anything like the novella? I actually have the "Different Seasons" book but haven't read it all (it's in French... and I dislike reading English books in French...). I'm off on holiday in England so won't be answering for the next week or so, but other suggestions are more than welcome in the meantime!

Hello everyone ! I like organizing my TBR list into themes and right now I'm interested in reading books that portray the mood of a season. For example, for Summer I've got Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. For Autumn, The October Country also by Ray Bradbury. For Winter, Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett seems to fit the bill. I'm having a hard time coming up with anything for Spring, though. Any suggestions for Spring and/or the other seasons? (any genre welcome, I'll read anything !)

As a child I think my favorites were: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis The Adventure Series by Enid Blyton (my mum would read it to my brother and I, she'd play out all the proper voice, even Kiki the parrot ! so I can't really remember if it was any good, but it has sentimental value !) The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (has anybody seen the recent-ish movie? it looks terrible...) Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (and anything else by Diana Wynne Jones) There are loads of other great books in the list I'd add to my top 5 children's books, but I didn't read most of them as a child. Coraline for example I only read last year.

Thank you very much ! I think I'll try Rendezvous with Rama first

You're right I think, all the recipes I found seem to be pure speculation... but they aren't that different, they mostly involve apple cider, nutmeg, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and vanilla ice cream. I'm going to have to try it I'll report back later !

Hello ! I've got a huge TBR pile but right now I really fancy reading some science fiction involving first contact with aliens, be they friendly, or not so much. Any suggestions? Thank you

Yes Howl's Moving Castle is a book ! A great book too ! Large bits of the story were removed for the film, and though the film works just fine, I really like the book better. That's funny, I've been poking around the forum for a little over a day and I've already come to associate your name and avatar to Jack Vance, vodkafan ! I've never read anything by Jack Vance before, where would you recommend I start?

I grew up on a steady diet of Enid Blyton and the characters always seemed to have fantastical midnight feasts made up of crumpets, scones and other mysterious food I'd never heard of ! I grew up in France you see, and they don't have any of those here... Now everytime I get a chance to go to England I bring back a nice big stock of midnight feast worthy food to keep me going. I still have two packets of crumpets left, in my freezer. Also, does anybody know how to make a good Harry Potter butterbeer ? Ooh Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle Stop Cafe always makes me hungry...

Thanks for the warm welcome ! Devi, if I don't have enough room on my shelves, I can always rediscover the wonderful world of towering book piles ! Ben, have you ever tried to tame a rabbit?? They may seem all sweet and fluffy but they are crafty little devils. Mine has made it quite clear that anything on the floor belongs to her and therefore shall be eaten. Thanks for the link bree ! I'm only just discovering the forum Yes I did draw that deer in my avatar, thank you for the compliment !

Hello everyone ! My name is Megan, I’m a 25 year old French art student and future illustrator living in Lyon (Southeast France) and I’m very pleased to meet you Because of my studies I haven’t read an entire book for quite a long time… But now I’m freeeee so I can read to my heart’s content! I mostly enjoy Science Fiction and Fantasy, but I’d like to broaden my horizons! Let me see what I have in my bookcase to give you an example of what I like. What do we have here, hmmm, ok here goes : Anne Mc Caffrey (loads), Audrey Niffenegger (not enough), Philip Pullman (loads), Patrick Rothfuss (want more !), China Miéville, Alex Bell, Maupassant (hello, you’re a bit lost aren’t you?), Neil Gaiman (the works), Trudi Canavan, Stephen King (far too many), Diana Wynne Jones, Terry Pratchett (ditto), Poe, Garth Nix, Lindsey Davis, Jean M. Auel, William Nicholson, Robert Rankin, and the odd Bradbury and Asimov for good measure. I’d really like to sink my teeth into good old science fiction classics, but they’re all halfway across France in my mother’s house and the nearest English bookshop is… well… far away. So… I need pointers ! Where to start? I could also randomly order whatever picks my fancy on Amazon but who knows what I might end up with… Last time I tried that I ended up with Mordant’s Need by Stephen Donaldson, cough, splutter, violent shudder, groaaaaaaan (did not like the flimsy heroine). My favourite books to read over and over again, to feel better and remember that the world is actually quite nice are : Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis, Neverwhere, Stardust, Coraline, The Graveyard Book and American Gods by Neil Gaiman (sorry, couldn’t just pick one…), Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I also enjoy eating food, sleeping, breathing, movie watching, drawing trolls and fairy tale beasties, (putting things in parenthesis), making lists and keeping plants alive (mostly alive). I am the proud owner of a book-eating rabbit.