Kell

See, this is where I cleverly decided only to add the books as I read them, that way I'm only having to do one or two at any given time, which takes no time at all, and they can build up gradually. I'm not adding Mount TBR to it as I do occasionally decide I'm no longer interested in a book and get rid of it without reading it, then I have to remember to delete it from the various lists, blah-blah-blah. When you've got 120 books on youTBR pile, it can be a bit daunting to think of adding every single one of them! As it is, I only had to add a handful as I started from the beginning of this year.

I'm so glad you enjoyed The Prestige, Gyre - it was one of my favourite books last year!

to the forum, Leanne. I hope you'll enjoy sharing your favourite books and authors with us.

I read it just last year. The author is Antoine De Saint-Exup

I kinda like Frankie and Benny's - it's pretty decemtly-priced and the food is good. And yes, they're often near cinemas, so it's dead handy. Jimmy Chung's Chinese buffet is pretty good too - we have several in the Aberdeen area.

I've just signed up too as it looks quite fun. My username is Kell_Smurthwaite if anyone wants to hook up on my friends list.

Since posting in this thread almost 2 years ago (OMG, has it been so long?!) I've read all 7 of the Roman Legion books that have been published and am eagerly awaiting the 8th. I also have the 1st two in the Revolution series, which I haven't yet read, but I plan to as soon as possible, and will be getting the third one when it comes out too! I love Scarrow's writing style - it gets you right into the thick of things from the outset and keeps you gripped to the very end!

LOL - you'd be right, Janet - I wasn't what you might call overly impressed! But The Book Club Bible is definitely a good call - very good to refer back to every now and then.

Hello and to the forum, Lilac. I look forward to hearing all about your favourite books and authors.

No, I've not read Grotesque yet, but I've heard lots of good things about it and it's definitely on my wish list - it'll be a future purchase when I've whittled down my TBR mountain a little!

Title: Heart of Darkness Author: Joseph Conrad ISBN: N/A Publisher: Librivox No. of pages: N/A Challenges: Classic / 1001 / Olympic - Poland Other info: Free audio book Rating: 2/10 Synopsis (from Librivox): Set in a time of oppressive colonisation, when large areas of the world were still unknown to Europe, and Africa was literally on maps and minds as a mysterious shadow, Heart of Darkness famously explores the rituals of civilisation and barbarism, and the frighteningly fine line between them. We get the tale through a classic unreliable narrator, relating as Marlow, a ship’s captain, tells how he was sent by the Company to retrieve the wayward Kurtz, and was shaken to discover the true depths of darkness in that creature’s, and in his own, soul. Conrad based the work closely on his own terrible experience in the Congo. This work has been reinterpreted and adapted into many modern forms, the most well known being the film Apocalypse Now. Review: From all accounts, Heart of Darkness was based on Conrad's own experiences in the Congo some eight years before writing the book, which would, one would think, make for an interesting read. Instead, I found this dull, plodding and pretty pointless. I know it's held to be a classic full of symbols and ambiguity, but I just did not gel with any aspect of this novella - not the characters, nor the setting, nor their apparent motives (which seemed very weak) for any of their actions. The ending, in particular, was anti-climactic, singularly lacking in any drama or discernable meaning, and seemed drawn out yet strangely abrupt (a combination that would seem impossible, but that's how it is!). Basically, it took a long time to get nowhere. I'm not sure if it was the style of writing or the story, but I'm not much bothered about reading anything else by Conrad, at least, not in a hurry.

That would be L Frank Baum.

I don't think it's that they're all gay, I think it's more that (if I can quote slightly incorrectly from season one) that they'll go for anyone, male or female, if they're hot? I know it was mentioned during the Dr Who behind-the-scenes stuff that in jack's case, he's from a future where people tend to go for people not men or women. I kinda like that they're redressing the balance a bit. I have a LOT of gay friends who feel that they're under-represented in the media (although I have just as many who don't feel one way or another about it at all). Relationships on TV are predominantly (not all - it's changing a bit now to make for steamy plotlines in various soaps) traditional male/female couples. Now that it's become generally accepted to be open about your sexuality, it's changing bit by bit.

The earliest specifically book-related memory is my first day of school where it was very quickly discovered that I would not deign to read the Peter and Jane books with the rest of the class because I'd read them all more than two years before. I was in class 1/2 and they had to get me books from the class 5/6 section to challenge me. Earlier than that, I remember playing "flash cards" with my Mam. According to Mam, even before I could actually read, I "read" to my teddies - I memorised all my favourite stories and would hold the book open, turning the pages at the right points (because I knew them so well). I probably learned to read by recognising the shapes of the words I remembered hearing. I don't actually remember doing that, but Mam assures me it's true.

I quite agree with you, Kylie. Life isn't black and white - everything comes in various shades of grey. I constantly have to re-evaluate my thoughts and beliefs, even if it only makes me realise that my beliefs are the same as they were previously - it forces me to look at everything with fresh eyes. I really do think that if we just accept things blidly and don't ask questions, then the things in which we believe lose meaning, because you end up just going through the motions - stagnation indeed! On a completely different note, I thought these little tidbits from Wikipedia might interest you guys: I have to admit, when I found this out I thought it remarkably clever. I'd never even thought about the ramifications of the value of pi as a number corresponding to the amount of days in the sea, although I had considered that Piscine, (meaning swimming pool in French) may have referred to his time spent on the water... How clever that Richard Parker should go from being someone who had a grisly fate at the hands of lost sailors, to being the one who could so easily make a meal of the narrator of this story!

Cpt Jack, Spike AND Adam Ant??? I can't believe I missed it! I shall have to get hold of the new episodes very shortly and get all caught up...

Home-made spicy tomato, pepper and bean soup. Delicious!

Title: The Island of Dr. Moreau Author: H. G. Wells ISBN: N/A Publisher: Librivox No. of pages: N/A Challenges: Classic / 1001 Other info: Free audio book Rating: 7/10 Synopsis (from Amazon): Adrift in a dinghy, Edward Prendick, the single survivor from the good ship Lady Vain, is rescued by a vessel carrying a profoundly unusual cargo a menagerie of savage animals. Tended to recovery by their keeper Montgomery, who gives him dark medicine that tastes of blood, Prendick soon finds himself stranded upon an uncharted island in the Pacific with his rescuer and the beasts. Here, he meets Montgomery's master, the sinister Dr. Moreau a brilliant scientist whose notorious experiments in vivisection have caused him to abandon the civilised world. It soon becomes clear he has been developing these experiments with truly horrific results. Review: Like Frankenstein almost 80 years before, The Island of Dr Moreau features a man of science playing God and finding that his creations do not act as he would prefer. The themes of human nature, law, religion and society are expertly mixed against the backdrop of a mysterious Pacific island. Of course, in recent years, many of the issues faced by Moreau have come to the fore in the media, as the advancement of genetics and cloning have begged the question of whether it is ever right for Man to play God, and just how far is too far? There is also the question of forcing a belief system on another set of "people" - deifying ones-self in order to be protected from one's own creations - and the degradation of said creations when they are left to their own devices. Wells has chosen a heady blend of science and nature to portray just how easily mankind can go astray - and one has to wonder if his ideas are not already becoming a reality - which makes for tense and exciting reading. It's not a particularly long story and it runs at breakneck speed from beginning to end, hurtling the reader into the action and offering no respite until the tale is told. If you fancy trying a bit of classic sci-fi, this is definitely one to try!

Title: The Tenderness of Wolves Author: Stef Penney ISBN: 9781847240675 Publisher: Quercus No. of pages: 450 Challenges: PC Other info: Debut novel / 2006 Costa Book of the Year Rating: 8/10 Synopsis (from Amazon): It is 1867, Canada: as winter tightens its grip on the isolated settlement of Dove River, a man is brutally murdered and a 17-year old boy disappears. Tracks leaving the dead man's cabin head north towards the forest and the tundra beyond. In the wake of such violence, people are drawn to the township - journalists, Hudson's Bay Company men, trappers, traders - but do they want to solve the crime or exploit it? One-by-one the assembled searchers set out from Dove River, pursuing the tracks across a desolate landscape home only to wild animals, madmen and fugitives, variously seeking a murderer, a son, two sisters missing for 17 years, a Native American culture, and a fortune in stolen furs before the snows settle and cover the tracks of the past for good. Review: Once in a while, the literary awards people get it right. When the Costa crowd made The Tenderness of Wolves their choice for Book of the Year and First Novel Award in 2006, they were certainly on top form! This novel reads like a dream from start to finish, from the way the characters' lives and relationships are gradually revealed, to the unfolding of the mystery surrounding an artifact that may prove the existence of a written culture of the Native Americans, to the investigation of a murder that rocks a small and seemingly close-knit community. There's a timelessness to it all that means it could easily be transported to any era, but it sits perfectly in the onset of the harsh winter of 1867, and charts the journeys - physical, mental and emotional - of each of the players. Told partly in first person from the point of view of Mrs. Ross, the mother of a teenaged boy who has gone missing immediately after the murder of a French trapper, and partially in the third person, taking an overview of what happens to the others as she ventures out on her quest - to find her son, and herself. It's a much internalised epic that strikes deep into your heart as you read, pulling you effortlessly into the narrative and forcing you to journey with her. Highly recommended.

Title: The House in the Forest Author: Michèle Desbordes ISBN: 0571217796 Publisher: Faber and Faber No. of pages: 186 Challenges: OC - France Other info: Translated from the French by Shaun Whiteside Rating: UNFINISHED - 0/10 Synopsis (from Amazon): In her cottage in the rain-drenched French countryside, an old woman receives an unexpected visitor: a boy whispering in an unfamiliar language, and bringing sheaves of paper, the letters and jottings of her youngest son. Some time ago her son had done as she had told him, and left to seek his fortune on a Caribbean island. Once there, the promised wealth disastrously eluded him. Soon, not far from the old woman's cottage, the locals see a mysterious stranger, with a boy and a dog, carrying planks into the woods to build a place to live, perhaps a place to die... Review: It’s rare that I give up on a book so very quickly, especially one as short as this, but I got as far as page 32 and just could not force myself to read another word. My boredom mostly stemmed from the fact that absolutely nothing seemed to be happening and the narrative (which continually switched between past and present tense) constantly returned to the same image of a man lying dead in a shack and a boy sitting motionless and silent beside him. And this wasn’t the only instance of repetition: Quite often, the sentence used to end one paragraph was almost identical (if not exactly the same) as the one that began the next. This got old very fast. It was also filled with long sentences broken by far too many commas – I fear Desbordes is an auto-punctuator – which ground my nerves from the very start, as I found I lost track of where the sentence was originally heading. I can honestly say that I will never be tempted to try reading anything else written by this author ever again. Whatever message was supposed to be conveyed was utterly lost on me.

to the forum, march. I hope you'll enjoy discussing books with us all!

I'm making a MASSIVE pot of Rogan Josh. I'll be freezing about 1/2 a dozen portions for other times...

to the forum, Megan! I'm sure you'll find lots of like-minded folks here with whom to chat about books.

I just very recently read Boy A myself, and you're right - it's a very thought-provoking read. I was never sure where my sympathies lay as they kept shifting. It can be uncomfortable in places, feeling sympathy for someone who has committed such a heinous crime, but at the same time, you can see him really trying to make an honest go of things this time round, and that's to be applauded. With events over the last 15-or-so years (with specific reference to the Jamie Bulger case), it really is hard-hitting and an interesting look at all sides of the arguement of whether or not young offenders shoudl be given new identieis when they are reintegrated into the community, and the effect that living a lie can have on a person's whole life.

I've been to Barter Books several times (I try to go every time I'm visiting family in Northumberland, but it doesn't always work out that way). I can easily spend an entire day in there, just getting lost among the stacks and flicking through all those lovely books!