Kell

There have been plenty of shows that have been given sa reprieve due to fan intervention. Stargate SG1 wasn't cancelled when originally planned, and Farscape got the parting shot of Peacekeeper Wars, instead of finishing abruptlly with no hope of ever finding out what happened after the end of season 4.

Looks like it could be bad news for Pushing Daisies anyway. According to Wikipeidia, due to the writers' strike, only 9 episodes of the promised 22 were made, which could mean that the show is "in the bubble". Although season 2 is slated for Fall 2008, it may not happen at all - 9 episodes may be all you get of it. The same thing hapened to Drive (excellent series starring Nathan Fillian). It got cancelled after just 6 episodes.

I agree - although I re-read them in chronological order, they work VERY well if you read them all starting from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and go right through to the end, and THEN read The Magician's Nephew. It's lovely to have it finally revealed how it all began... feels more satisfying that way.

Anyone who would like to get hold of a copy of this book and join in the circle - there are many copies available at Green Metropolis The third book we'll be reading (throughout May and June) is Mansfield Park: Taken from the poverty of her parents' home in Portsmouth, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with her cousin Edmund as her sole ally. During her uncle's absence in Antigua, the Crawford's arrive in the neighbourhood bringing with them the glamour of London life and a reckless taste for flirtation. Mansfield Park is considered Jane Austen's first mature work and, with its quiet heroine and subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, one of her most profound. ~~***~~ In deference to those who may be reading it for the first time - if you're going to talk about a major plot point, please state which chapter your post relates to and use the spoiler tags, so that those who haven't yet reached that point will know to wait a while before reading that post! Some questions to consider: 1. Fanny Price is the heroine of Mansfield Park and her character is the source of great debate between academics and fans of Jane Austen. She divides opinion. Do you like her? Why? Do you think Jane Austen liked her? What about Mary Crawford? Do you think Jane Austen liked her as well? Discuss the differences in the characters and how Jane Austen wanted us to see them; and how they seemed to you. 2. On first publication Mansfield Park was acclaimed for its ‘high moral tone’; but several others, including Jane Austen’s mother, found its heroine ‘insipid’ and therefore unsympathetic. Do you agree? Do you think this is a ‘moral’ book? 3. It has been said that Mansfield Park is about society – the rich and the poor, at all ends of the scale. Do you think the portrayal of the wealthy and those struggling to survive is accurate, or do you think Jane Austen was only scratching the surface of conditions in Regency England? How important is wealth and social standing to the characters in the book? 4. Did you want Fanny to accept Henry Crawford, or did you want her to wait for Edmund? 5. How do men and women interact? Which interactions in particular did you find interesting and why? How do these relationships and interactions compare to engagements and marriages today? 6. Are the characters in Mansfield Park conventional in their thoughts and actions according to the time in which the novel is set? In what ways do they conform (or not) to conventions? What is expected of them and how do they react to those expectations? 7. Who was your favourite character and why? 8. Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? 9. Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? 10. Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? 11. Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? (You do not have to answer all, or indeed, any, of these questions, they are meant only as points for you to perhaps mull over as you read, and provoke more discussion. Please feel free to ask and answer any questions that come up as you read.)

Anyone who would like to get hold of a copy of this book and join in the circle - there are quite a few copies available at Green Metropolis Added by Michelle - Also available at Amazon.. see link on site front page! The Reading Circle choice for May is The House at Riverton by Kate Morton: Some questions to consider: 1- Who was your favourite character and why? 2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? 3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? 4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? 5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? (You do not have to answer all, or indeed, any, of these questions, they are meant only as points for you to perhaps mull over as you read, and provoke more discussion. Please feel free to ask and answer any questions that come up as you read.) Some additional questions taken from Kate Morton's website: (DO NOT READ THESE QUESTIONS TILL YOU HAVE READ THE BOOK, AS THERE MAY BE SPOILERS INVOLVED)

That is SO true! He's one of the best characters Shakespeare ever wrote (at least I think so!).

TBR stands for "To be read". It's that pile of unread books we all seem to accumulate.

I finished a book today (Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong) which featured the opening chapter of another of her books (Bitten) that I'd already read (it's the first in the other series). So this time I didn't have to worry about reading the extra chapter, as I already know the book very well

Ooh, we did An Inspector Calls too - I'd forgotten that one! We also did Death of a Salesman and Spring and Port Wine, neither of which impressed me like Inspector did.

I had lunch with a friend at the weekend who made me almost sick with her description of how she treats her books - the corners get folded down, the spines get cracked before she'll start reading, she puts them down on surfaces face-down while open to keep her place, etc. It was heartbreaking for an anal-retentative reader like me to hear!

I agree overall, but there have been one or two very faithful and excellent adaptation such as: Stand By Me (The Body from Different Seasons) The Shawshank Redemption (Rita Haywood and the Shawshank Redemption from Different Seasons) Misery (Misery)

If I've really enjoyed the book that's finished and it's ages till the next book comes out, I might sneak a peak, but otherwise not.

Ooh, I think my favourite Good Guy has to be Stu Redman from The Stand by Stephen King - I adore him! He's just one of those all-round nice guys who stands up for what he believes in, but doesn't shout about it. A man of few words indeed. Favourite Bad Guy, well it's a duo actually - Valmont and Merteuil from Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos - they're both just so nasty yet charming, and spend their time whiling away their boredom by ruining people's lives...

I just read Le Petit Prince last year and thought it was lovely, so I'll have to remember that one for Taddy. And as for the Moomin books, I never read them myself, but I used to love the TV programme (the original proper one, that is) so I think they'll get a shoe-in! Never heard of Hairy Maclary, so I'll have to look out for those. I'm ashamed to say that I've never liked the Dr Suess books though - can't stand them.

I've always been a bit wigged out by clowns (I've always found them slightly sinister and majorly scary), even though I've never read IT (I have seen the film, but I was scared of them beforehand). I will never be able to read IT beause of Pennywise!

Well, at present I'm the only reader, but I'm determined that Tadpole will have a love of literature instilled from before birth. I'll be reading to my belly from about 20 weeks (which is only a few weeks away) as aparently, Tad will be able to hear things going on in the world outside at around that time. I have some wonderful books liked up to start Tad off (Winnie the Pooh, The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland and some Beatrix Potter books to name a few).

Yes, I have the film on DVD, but haven't watched it in quite a while. It's Christian Bale who portrayed Bateman (excellently, I thought too). I think they did a very good job of getting across both the psychotic nature of Bateman and the dark humour in his situation - and I didn't find it even half as gory as I was expecting from what other people had told me. I watched the film first, then read the book. Yes, I thought the book was better, but they did a very decent job with the adaptation ni my opinion.

I can't quite remember exactly, but I know Bateman posed as another character for large parts of the book (was it Paul owen? I wish I could remember, and I no longer have my copy so I can't check!) and was constantly mistaken for him. Perhaps the sightings of Paul Owen, even in London, were as a result of further mistaken identity on the part of those who saw the person... I think a major point in the novel was that they were all identikit yuppies (which was borne out by the fact that they all wore the designer suits and all had business cards that were practically identical).

I LOVE this book - I must have read it about a dozen times (although I've listened to the audio book too). It takes everything that's best about Pratchett and mizes it with everything that's best about Gaiman - the two were BORN to write together and I wish they'd done another project together since then. Sadly, with Terry's onset of alzheimers, I doubt that will ever happen now. The whole thing is seamless - although you can recognise the humour of the two writers separately, they blend it so well, that either one could have written any of the parts in the novel. It's funny, clever, dark and, well, just brilliant from start to finish!

I think drug-induced psychosis is a probable cause - after all, he and his friends do a LOT of coccaine throughout the course of the book. He obviously has mental/personality problems that are exacerbated by his drug use. I LOVED this book. I did get some strange looks from colleagues who witnessed me laughing my head off at the funny bits whilst reading during lunch hour. All they knew is that Amercian Psycho is a very violent book - none of them realised it has a thread of ultra-dark humour running through it too!

I don't know about ALL published books, but you can search the American National Archives Library Catalogue HERE - that may help.

Yup, I use dictionary.com too - it's an invaluable resource. Every time someone at work is hunting for a dictionary or thesaurus, I'm always there 10 times quicker with the website!

I love baked sweet potato with just a knob of butter - delicious! Also nice if you grate a little fresh nutmeg onto the flesh, or even some cinamon - anice twist!

I adore The Edge Chronicles. I'm busy reading The Lost Barkscrolls at the moment. I also wrote a review for Stormchaser, which you can see HERE. I think my favourite Edge Chronicle was The Curse of the Gloamglozer - the very first book in the Quint trilogy. The writers almost rival Terry Pratchett with the completeness of The Edge.

You can get it very cheaply online, EshInoBi - I found a copy for £3.75 on Green Metropolis. So, if you feel you absoluteoy can't wait for it from the library, you can always have a quick peek at availability 2nd hand on the internet.