Kell

I like unusual names and I'm sure I've picked up books I wouldn't usually have looked at twice because I've thought, "Oh, what an unusual name!" and it's caught my attention that way. I may not always have bought them, but I've looked at them, which I might not have done had it not been for a strange name on the front cover.

Me neither - it has to be a biog/autobiog of someone I'm really, really interested in for me to pick it up.

That's how I feel - if I'm really disliking a book, what is the point in continuing with it when there are so many other books out there waiting to be read? So many books, so little time!

There have been quite a few I picked up then put down - mostly I haven't fancied going back to them at all. One of them, Notes on a Scandal, was later chosen fr the Posh Club read and so I read it, but I was heartily disappointed - my initial impression of boredom at it turned out to be spot on. Sometimes I do go back and am pleasantly surprised, but I can't think of any off the top of my head...

I avoid Virginia Andrews and anyone who is reputed to be anything like her, as having read several of her books as a teenager, I now no longer need to read any more of her tripe, because it's all identical (even though she's dead and it's now written by a ghost writer - quite fitting, really!).

In some cases it's more that things really have to happen in a certain way, otherwise it wouldn't work, but there are some authors who are completely predictable and not in a good way. For example, Virginia Andrews - you can pretty much guarantee that it'll be a story about a young girl brought up in a family she later discovers is not her own, only to discover her real family is well-off. She'll then go and stay with them and will fall prey to a male relative and have a child. Through all this, the person she always thought of as her brother will have always fancied her and she's been fighting her "un-natural" feelings for him. When they discover that they are not really brother and sister they end up together, raising the child that resulted through the incestuous relationship together as their own. History then repeats itself through several sequels, and then a prequel is brought out showing that the villain of the first book was made that way because of a relationship gone awry. They are all exactly the same.

I have a problem with formulaic crime/thrillers - unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of them out there, as a writer finds something that works once and then hangs on for dear life. The other things that gets me is the fine line between it being too easy to figure out whodunnit and it being impossible to work out. I like to have a chance of working things out for myself, but I don't want it to be too obvious or I feel like the writer is being condescending.

to the forum, LittleLijah - looking forward to hearing all about your favourite books and authors.

I think it's to do with publishers - often it's a different publisher in different countries and they all like to choose the cover art for their publication.

Hello & to the forum! It's good to have you here.

Thanks Kelley - I'll look forward to those being published.

I read loads of Enid Blyton when I was a kid - all the Mallory Towers books and some of the Famous Five ones too. I also read all the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder - they're definitely classics. Charlotte's Web was another one I loved,along with a more recent one - Harriet the Spy - that was great! I also had loads of Judy Blume books - she was a big favourite for a while. On top of that, I read things like What Katy Did and Little Women. I didn't actually read all that many kids' books when I was a kid as I had quite an advanced reading age - I've had to revisit them as an adult instead, but I suspect I appreciate them more now than I would have done then.

Hello and to the forum, Victoria! I'm sure you'll find some new authors to try in no time at all here. You could always join in with the reading circle - we read a different book chosen by members every month, so there's always something interesting happening there. We're reading TheThief of Always by Clive Barker this month. Looking forward to hearing more about your favourite books and authors.

I've always pictures Natasha Henstridge as Elena. Whether or not she could pull off the role is another matter, but I always picture her anyway. I have another question too - I see from your sig on your own forum that you

Never, never, never! The only reason I would look at the back pages is if it's 2nd hand - and that's just to check the pages are all there - I've been burned that way before!

aboard, Sarah! We'll soon have you discovering new authors to add to your list of favourites. If you're up for trying something new, we have a monthly reading circle with the books chosen by members, so there's always something different to try - I've discovered lots of different authors that way. Good to have you here.

My hubby says he fears it's a one-trick pony and that season 2 won't be even half as good, but I'm still dying to see it - we just watched episode 16 last night and we'll probably watch another two of them tonight. I'm loving it! I think my favourite character has to be Hiro - he's so sweet and pure of heart like a traditional hero - at least, he's trying to be. I also really feel for Matt Parkman - it must be terrible to hear everyone's thoughts like that. I noticed a parallel between two of the characters last night -

I found Gerald's Game very chilling. I think King is at his best when he's focusing more on things that are well within the realm of possibility.

Hello and to the forum, David - another Y chromosome added to the mix - hurrah! I'm a fellow Wind in the Willows fan (I've loved that book ever since I was a kid) and occasionally put pen to paper. There are a few writers on here now - quite the little community! Looking forward to hearing all about your favourite books and authors, and perhaps sampling some of your own work too.

There are definitely moments where I think Barker is going for the chill factor, but he did it very mildly - I'm used to a little more "oomph" even from young adult books, but then it could be that I'm just used to the ones that are aimed at the slightly older market.

Although I'm not reading this one, I'm having a bit of bother with another Atwood book - The Robber Bride. I'm just not getting into it at all and I'm wondering what all the fuss is about when it comes to her writing. I listened to an audio book of The Handmaid's Tale and although I quite enjoyed it, I didn't think it was anything to write home about. I'm now wondering if I'll bother with The Blind Assassin - I think I'll wait till yhou've finished it and see what you thought of it overall...

I've finished this one now and I loved the descriptions throughout the book, but the book itself felt slightly dated to me, even though it was first published as recently as 1992. Kids' "scary" books that are published now seem to be darker and more psychologically creepy, as well as having more "visual" (in the descriptive sense) scares that have the intensity kept up for longer than this one did. It felt to me like it was perhaps aimed at the 9-12 age bracket and I tend to prefer the 12-15+ chillers better, perhaps because they're more involved. I wished that a reason had been given - perhaps some kind of story of how Mr Hood's house came into being in the first place, and also wished that it had been made clearer exactly WHEN the other children were from. The line drawings throughout my copy (drawn by Clive Barker) were gorgeous though - I really liked them.

I used to have as many as half a dozen on the go at any given time - they were all dotted around the house and in various bags, so I'd always have one of them handy to read. Nowadays I tend to stick to one book and one audio book, although occasionally, if I'm reading a chunky book that isn't totally engrossing me, I'll read a shorter book in between and come back to the thicker one. I do tend to prefer one at a time nowadays - I my brain gets confuddled unless they're very very different.

That's wonderful news, Maureen! And of course, the best way to reward him for reading books is... buy him more books!

I thought I'd merge these threads as they're the same subject.