Kell

My reading seems to have slowed down considierably since becoming pregnant (probably due to a lack of concentration and an inability to sit comfortably for any length of time. By the end of April this year I had finished 29 books and abandoned 5. Compare that to: 2007: 52 finished / 1 abandoned 2006: 35 finished / 3 abandoned Looks like last year was a bit of a bumper year for the first quarter (and a big improvement on 2006) but I've had a massive fall-off this year for the same period.

You can buy bread-makers very cheaply these days - we got one a couple of years back for under

Yes - you pay for postage on the books you send and pay nothing on the books you receive.

OK, so I'm a little late getting started, but I read the first few chapters of Sense and Sensibility today. So far it hasn't really grabbed me, but then, the only one out of the other Austens I've read that really got me hooked from the get-go was Northanger Abbey for some reason. Still, it's not that I'm not enjoying it - I think it'll just take al ittle while to sink into it, especially as i've been reading a lot of modern fiction lately, so it'll take a short while to get back into a more classical style of writing...

I've not read this, but having very recently seen the film adaptation of it, I may well be tempted to pick up the book as I rather enjoyed it.

I've no idea how they calculate it - I never even noticed it, so it must be brand new - I've certainly never rated anyone. I also have a rating of 3.93 from 81 ratings. No idea how or why as I always describe things as exactly as possible, package well and send the books as soon as possible (with a rider on all the books saying I can usually only post on Saturdays, so everyone knows that if they order on a Monday, they might have to wait till the end of the week for me to post it).

Those plain grey plastic bags are excellent. Whenever we get a special delivery at work, I save those to use too - I just wrap them in an ordinary plastic shopping bag inside it for extra protection.

Due to postagenow being calculated by size, I ditched the jiffy bags, as they made many books too thick to go through the size-checker. instead, I wrap the book in a plastic bag, then put it into an envelope. I then tape round all the edges so that no corners can poke through the envelope. The book is completely protected and I always get comments saying the books ar well-packaged.

Hi Blaze, and welcome to the forum. I'm not sure if this is quite what you mean, but Terry Pratchett's Discworld features The Patrician who is, essentially, a tyrant, but who works for the good of the city of Ankh Morpork. He uses veiled threats (OK, promises, and they're not always so very veiled!) and people quite often disappear mysteriously. He's also known for hanging mime artists upside down in a dungeon opposite a wall that has painted on it, in large letters, "Learn the words". On the other hand, he's completely devoted to his small, scruffy, very smelly old dog called Wuffles. He can be both cruel and compassionate and never loses his cool. I suppose he could be seen as being both a good guy and a bad guy at the same time, depending on whose point of view it is! PS I love the Artemis Fowl books! PPS My non-reading hubby just came up with a relaly good'un! Jean Valjean from Les Miserable who starts out a crook and becomes a hero and an upstanding citizen (I think he actually becomes mayor, if I remember correctly!). What's more, he assures me he's actually read and enjoyed this book - I've never been so flabbergasted in my life!

When I first arrived here, despite being a heavy reader, I had a TBR pile of under 10 books at any given time. Since then it has grown and grown. It's currently at about 90, but that's because I took about 50 books off it a couple of weeks ago in a vain attempt to make it a bit more manageable!

I've not read it yet, but it's on my list of book TBR!

It does beceom more clear as you go on - I think it's intentionally confusing in the beginning to throw you off-kilter and get you onside with a character that under normal circumstances you might automatically decide to hate.

He should do fine with them - they're all aimed at the young adult and kids' market (I'd say the Bromeliad trilogy would perhaps be the "youngest" of them, but even so, a 12-y-o should still enjoy them). I've not read the Johnny Maxwell books, but I've never heard a bad thing about them. The Discworld young adult books are excellent - very funny. I think he'll especially enjoy The Wee Free Men - hoots mon! And ...Maurice... is a stand-alone Discworld novel, which is also excellent. I'd say that if he enjoyed all those, he'd definitely like to go onto The Carpet People which I would say would be better for perhaps a little older, as it's not specificaly aimed at the youth market, but there's absolutely nothing risque in it. I first read it back in 1992 when I was almost 16 and thought it wonderful - it was my first Pratchett experience and my love of his books grew rapidly from there.

If you like something with a bit of extra bite, you might like to try Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series: Bitten Stolen Dime Store Magic Industrial Magic Haunted Broken No Humans Involved The nest one (Personal Demon) comes out shortly).

I've only read the books, but there are all the Young Discworld novels available in audio book: 1. The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents 2. The Wee Free Men 3. Hat Full of Sky 4. Wintersmith The Bromeliad Trilogy is also available in audio book format: 1. Truckers 2. Diggers (I can only find this one in paperback - how odd!) 3. Wings The Johnny Maxwell series is also excellent for young readers: 1. Only You Can Save Mankind 2. Johnny and the Dead 3. Johnny and the Bomb And if he really wants something a bit special, he could try the one-off novel that Pratchett wrote when he was just 17-y-o and rewrote it later on (so he co-authored with himself - LOL!) The Carpet People Of course, being a HUGE Pratchett fan, I can recommend going through the entire Discworld series frm start to finish - and they're ALL available in audio book format now.

That might be The Other Queen - it's about Mary Queen of Scots (I believe). I'm a big fan of Philippa Gregory myself, so I think Millie and I would get on great (even if she'd make me sneeze - LOL!).

I see you've reda a Carole Matthews book. I recently read The Chocolate Lovers' Club by Carole Matthews and loved it. If you haven't already read it, it's definitely worth picking up. I don't have much experience of rom-coms, but I liked that one enough to pick up the sequel (The Chocolate Lovers' Diet) which I hope to read very soon.

to the forum, Kelly. Hope you enjoy it here.