Michelle

August 12th - Most practical book Hmm.. I'm not sure what they mean by this? Any ideas?

Most of the time I have no problem following an audiobook. In fact, that's one reason why I like them at night.. I tune into the book and turn off the rest of my racing mind. As for the kindle, I struggle without some sort of light, so the paperwhite is a must for me.

August 11th - Ideal for a book group. There should be lots of ideas for this one...

I was the same, I tried the audio version after my daughter kept on at me to read it, and I didn't finish it. My daughter says it's the best book ever, mind you...

Printed books for me. I occasionally read on the kindle, but I still love books. Audiobooks come a close second though. emelee, as already said, ereaders are much different to computer screens. Having tried a few, my personal favourite is the paperwhite.

Catch-up time! The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop was sent to me, and I decided to take a look at the beginning to see what I thought. It was a fairly slow story, but it completely hooked me. It's set in Cyprus in the early 1970s, and Victoria has based it around Varosha, Famagusta, an area which remains deserted since 1974. I was impressed by the way she writes her characters, and the gentle way in which they become real, and I would read more of her books in the future. I then picked up The Bone Dragon - review here. The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter was an audio listen, which I've been thinking about for ages. It wasn't an outstanding read, but certainly an interesting one, and I will eventually try the next one. To be honest, there's not as much humour as you'd expect with Pratchett involved, but there was a certain warmth. Terra by Mitch Benn was my next audio, which I really enjoyed, and had me giggling. I *suppose* it's meant to be a children's story, but according to twitter, many adults are loving it too. Terra is a human child brought up on an alien world, and there are some wonderful characters in it. The audio version brings an extra layer, and Mitch narrates it himself, and he's brilliant. I'm now half way through Terra's World, the follow up. Two holiday reads on my kindle.. the first was Earth Girl by Janet Edwards. Whilst this fits well into YA, and I had a few criticisms, it's a well paced book which kept me reading. I have the 2nd book downloaded now. The second was The Giver by Lois Lowry. It's a short, fairly simple story, published in the early 1990s. There are a couple of moments which really shock, and it will certainly remain with me. I want to read the other 3 in the quartet, and I would love this version.

Now that looks interesting - something to look out for. Does he have many graphic novels?

Oops! Oh well, these things happen!

Going back to 1st August - Most interesting opening line - One which comes to mind is from Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve:

August 9th - Most powerful storytelling - There are probably quite a few if I think about it, but the one which comes to mind is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. It works on so many levels, and it's the only book which had me crying by the end. Not just a bit choked up, but proper crying! (I think my signed copy is one of my most prized possessions!)

Ok, August 4th - Best graphic novel - I haven't read many graphic novels at all, but I loved Interview with the Vampire: Claudia's Story. I've just looked at the mixed reviews on amazon, but most of the low ones are because the buyer didn't realise it was a graphic novel. They've either called it a comic, or complained that it didn't work on the paperwhite. Also, some say it added nothing to the original. However, I haven't read the original, and I knew what I was getting. I felt the artwork was excellent, and it conveyed the story well. I can see that reading a graphic novel after the actual book may not be so rewarding. I love The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, and was very excited to read the graphic novel. Whilst I enjoyed the artwork, I did feel much was missing from the story.

Yep, my mistake - had too many tabs open! It's here: http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/12903-august-bookadayuk-on-bcf/

Thanks Claire.. it's set up here, let me know if you can see anything which needs changing.

The following is from Claire's book thread, introducing #bookadayuk Claire has started to expand her own thoughts within her thread, but she mentioned a thread for everyone to take part in, and as this is something I considered myself, here it is! We can start off by catching up with the past few days, and then keep it going through August. The following link takes you to the twitter post showing all upcoming categories.. https://twitter.com/sdowdtrust/status/495307673400016896 but here are the first 9 to get us going... 1. Most interesting opening line 2. Best pairing of words and pictures 3. Favourite collection of short stories 4. Best graphic novel 5. Classic hero/ine or anti-hero/ine 6. Best for a bedtime story 7. Enjoyed by several generations 8. Never fails to cheer me up 9. Most powerful storytelling

Claire, I thought about bringing the bookadayuk over to here, but was worried I wouldn't be able to keep up. I have a bit of time this weekend, how would you feel if I started a thread for the first few days of August, and we could try to keep it going between us? I don't want to take away from your own thread if you want to do it on here?

I've just finished watching the film - yes, there are some changes, and things missing, which I think usually happens - but I think it made for a good film. I've learnt over to time to appreciate a book and film as different entities.

I'm afraid I'm going to disagree with you about unsaid rules. Whilst I stay generally undecided about Allegiant as a whole, I believe that authors have to right to do whatever they wish with their stories, and I like to see books which offer something different.

It's clear from amazon's reviews that it's not for everyone, but it's one of those books which really touched me, and I love Alexia's writing style. She spent some time with us during the YA Month last year.

Personally I find YA a very varied genre, so a lot of my reads still fall that way. However, I've just glanced at my shelves, and noticed The Machine by James Smythe. That was an unusual read, and has a nod to Frankenstein within.

Have you read any other fantasy, sci-fi or paranormal, or has it only been YA?

The Bone Dragon introduces us to Evie, who’s recovering from an operation to remove a part of her rib. With the help of her uncle, she decides to keep this piece of rib, and carve a dragon from it. As she recovers, this little bone dragon comes to life, and takes her out on night time trips. Over the course of the book, Evie’s past and life is gradually revealed to the reader, although it’s never totally clear; and it’s important to realise that Evie is the narrator of her story, so part of the experience is never knowing exactly sure what to expect, and what is truth. For me, The Bone Dragon is a well layered book – I have seen some reviews saying it’s no more than a story of a depressed girl making a dragon. I guess that is the basis of the story, but they seem to have missed so much more. It can be read as a fantasy, as a tale of a dragon coming to life and trying to help Evie to heal, in many ways. Alternatively, it can be read as a personal story, dealing with healing, friendship, family, and revenge. There is a darker side to the story too, Evie does learn to heal, and to develop her relationships, but there’s also a darker side to how she deals with her past. As for her past, it is a difficult one, but never is it presented in a graphic way – the author hints at what happened to Evie, and how it makes her feel. This to me is important, as this can be read by teenagers and adults alike. This is a story about a teenager, and it is a YA book, but as an adult I found so much within it’s pages. It stirred memories of teenage feelings, whilst bringing out the nurturing adult in me. Evie is a troubled but lovable character, who I wanted to know and help. I heard about this book a while ago, but have put off reading it. After meeting Alexia at YALC, suddenly it appealed, and I’m so glad I read it. Alexia has just signed a contract for her second book, and I will be first in the queue to read it.

Agreed - one of my favourite films.

I did a few brilliant bookish things over the last two weeks. First I went up to a book launch, for The Book if Life by Deborah Harkness, and then I attended the first ever YALC (Young Adult Literature Convention). The latter was a brilliant experience, which I'm still buzzing from! (The links are for my blog entries.)

My daughter also loved Geek Girl, and not many books catch her attention. We were also lucky enough to meet Holly Smale last week, and she was lovely.

I'd recommend We Were Liars - I wasn't sure during the first part, but then I ended up really liking it - read it before you find out more about it!