[Newly published books to be excited about this year...]

Plus, those who were excited about books this Jan, did you read them.. and did they live up to expectations?

[Goodreads]

You can find me at http://www.goodreads.com/profile/mjmoore. However, the import thingy won't work, so I only have one book added at the moment!

[Angel's Literary World - 2008]

Notes from an Exhibition has always had very mixed reviews.. and it probably does depned on your frame of mind at the time. I for one really liked it, but yes, the ending was a little strange.

[Nici's Reading]

Ooh, it's good to know that you enjoyed it - I shall get to it one day!

[Funny story & Joke Corner]

These jokes are so OLD! (Or have I been receiving emails for far too many years?! lol)

[Skin and Bones by Tom Bale]

It's not published until Jan 1st, Louise - but maybe you can get it reserved?

[Bad Science by Ben Goldacre]

Thanks Andy - threads merged.

[Skin and Bones by Tom Bale]

Tom kindly answered some interview questions, which can be found here.

[Skin and Bones by Tom Bale]

Set in a small Sussex village, Julia Trent is witness to a massacre, as a young man goes on the rampage, shooting people that she knows. Julia manages to survive, and only she knows that there were two gunmen in the village - something that the police will not believe.

 

Julia connects with Craig Walker, a journalist whose father was killed in the massacre, and together they have to find out more, in an attempt to uncover the truth, and protect their lives.

 

My initial reaction was how well the author handles the shooting at the beginning of the book. It would be easy to make this over dramatic, and too descriptive, but Tom avoids this, instead writing a scene that seems chillingly realistic.

 

The remainder of the book is fast paced - there are various characters introduced throughout, and it remains unclear for some whether they will turn out to be the good guys, or the bad. Julia and Craig need to work together, despite Julia

[Guernica by Dave Boling]

You can read an interview with the author here.

[Doctor Who & Torchwood Books]

Non-fiction wise, I've recently finished reading A Writer's Tale, by Russell T. Davis and Benjamin Cook, which chronicles - in e-mails - a year in the life of Russell T. Davis as producer and the show's lead writer. It's a very interesting read, and for anyone interested in Doctor Who, or script writing in general, this is a must-read (and the good news is, you can get this at the mo for only

[Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - your favourite characters and why]

 

In a way I do, because she sends me the manuscripts before the books are published but.. that's not why I recommend them - I just think that for anyone who enjoys vampires (unless you like the real horror stories), they're a good choice.

[Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - your favourite characters and why]

I figured I might like it because it has vampires, and I am a vampire fangirl.

 

You might want to give the Savannah Vampire Chronicles a try.

[Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - your favourite characters and why]

Although hype wouldn't put me off a book, if I thought it could be a good read.

 

Me neither.. but I have heard too many people say that it's not that well written. As I said in another thread, there were also a LOT of terrible reviews for the last book, and I don't want to to spend precious reading time on a series that will eventually disappoint!

[Twilight by Stephanie Meyer - your favourite characters and why]

I'm team "I will not read such a hyped book"!

[What do you stubbornly refuse to read, and why?]

I'm kinda the same with Twilight - I'm convinced that it's more to do with a)marketing and b)reading it because everyone else is. I also read SO many bad reviews of the last one in the series, and I don't want to give my time to a series, just to be let down at the end!

[Could You Pass the 11-plus?]

Some are worth it.. our local grammar gets excellent Ofsted reports.

[Louise's Books 2008]

Off sick today, and lay in bed dozing

 

Are you feeling better Louise?

[Ashleigh's Reading List 2009]

Books I Have Read

 

But it's not 2009 yet!

[What's the last CD you 'bought'?]

Charm, if you go to the amazon download page for it, I believe you can listen to a preview of the songs.

[MP3 Downloads from Amazon]

Yesterday I spotted that amazon.co.uk have started doing MP3 downloads, with some rather good prices! The good thing about them is that they are free from DRM (digital rights management) - this means there are no constraints on which devices can use them, or how many times you can burn them to disc, etc

 

As a bonus, if you click on the handy little link you can now see, the forum should should gain a small percentage too. When I get time, I'll look into putting somewhere which won't show on every page, but at least it's just text.. and very handy whenever you need it!

[What's the last CD you 'bought'?]

I finally got Duffy's CD.. listened to it once this afternoon, and loved it!

[A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens]

I think a lot of people were going to start reading it on Dec 1st, so possibly aren't ready to discuss yet.

[Which book to read]

I know this thread isn't a log as such, but as it's about personal reading choices, I'd prefer it in this section.

[Address Unknown by Kressmann Taylor]

Ah, thanks.. I shall move this to a better section. It does sound rather interesting, but it's a shame it's the price of a normal book if it's so short.