Kell

Not a stupid idea at all - if you nip back to the first post in this thread, there's a link to several wee fliers that I did for doing just that.

Ah, but if I didn't remember the titles of the books I hated, I might end up accidentally buying them again and that would just be tragic!

That's such a sweet story! Mr Shan does seem to be a very nice man - he left lovely comments on my reviews blog when I reviewed his books - made my day, that did!

You can often pick up audio books very cheaply in second hand or discount books shops - The Works often have a mixed selection - and, of course, libraries tend to have a pretty good selection too, if you're on a tight budget - I think some libraries might charge a small fee (or is that just for music CDs?), but I believe most of them are free.

I've not read the Demonata ones, but I've read the 1st four of the Vampire ones (The Saga of Darren Shan) and very much enjoyed them - highly recommended if you haven't read them already.

I get most of mine from Librivox as they're all in the public domain and, as they're read by regular punters, they're free. It's also a good way for me to up my classics intake. There are "naughty" places to get them too, but it shouldn't really be said out loud on a public forum - I don't want to get Michelle into trouble...

I actually found the title slightly odd, even after finishing the book - almost as if the daughter herself wasn't a person in her own right and only warranting being referred to as someone's daughter. Strangely, I thought it badly titled, but a very decent read.

I'm busy downloading the audio book of The Handmaid's Tale just now and I have The Robber Bride on Mount To-Be-Read...

Aww, that looks lovely! Amy might also enjoy the Not Quite a Mermaid series by Linda Chapman too, although they don't come with an audio cassette, the stories are lovely and the pics are good too. I reviewed one last year and then passed it on to my young niece and she adored it.

I actually found it quite an uplifting read, which I wasn't really expecting. I do hope you'll decide to give it a try, as I don't think you'll regret it.

I don't remember the last time I had a birthday cake! I tend to spend Xmas with family, so there's turkey (as my sister is demi-vegetarian) but there's usually another meat choice too, such as roast beef or pork, or perhaps duck. I like pancakes any time of the year - can't get enough of them sprinkled with sugar and drenched in freshly squeezed lemon juice - lip-smackin' good! At Easter, Dale gets a chocolate egg and I get a new book. I haven't yet discussed with him which book I'll be getting for Easter this year, but he has an Aero Bubbles egg...

Do you enjoy the research side of things, Stephen? I know you had a lot to do with the police and crime investigations as a journalist, so a lot of the background information would already be there, but how much fresh research do you end up doing for a new novel?

I do indeed, know his books - one of the book groups I'm in (The Posh Club) read his first one, Cold Granite, and I've since read the sequel. Looking forward to his third one coming out later in the year too. I was very put out when Waterstones took over Ottakar's - they seem to have put paid to quite a few planned tours for various authors in doing that - very upsetting! I hope you'll get to Aberdeen one of these days.

Any plans to come to Aberdeen? We'd love to see you up here! Also, I was wondering, how do you go about the business of writing? Do you set aside a certain amount of time each day to write, or do you just write when inspiration strikes?

I've not read it, but it looks like one to add to my wish list - sounds like it's just my kind of thing!

Stephen, I was checking out your events page and you have a very busy schedule! Do you enjoy all the touring? And if so, what is it you like best about it? Alternately, what do you like least about it?

LOL - that's all right - Aberdeen is a beautiful place.

Personally, I'm taking it as books written prior to 1900 (give or take a year or two where the author was writing for a while before then too), simply because I'm very aware that about 99% of my reading is authors from the 20th and 21st centuries - the later the publication date, the more likely it is to be on my TBR pile - LOL! I'm seeing this as motivation to broaden my horizons a bit and explore all those authors that wouldn't ordinarily get a look-in. I'm also listening to a lot of audio books these days and the classics are in the public domain, so places like Librivox have quite a few available to download for free, which is a great help, and for those who enjoy e-books, there are LOADS available for free from the likes of Project Gutenberg. Also, there are many publishers re-issuing low-cost classics (Penguin Classics / Wordsworth Classics) where you can pick them up for around

Glad you're joining us, Tiger!

I can recommend downloading some free audiobooks - there are many out-of-copyright audio book recordings available online at places like librivox and you'd be surprised how quickly you get through them just listening to a little here and there, whether it's while you're going to work or doing the ironing...

It can be chilly, yes, but in the summer we have the advantage that it doesn't tend to get too hot like it does down south - we get some pretty nice temperatures in the mid 20s, and further inland in the shire, in places like Braemar and Alford, they get scorching weather from very early on in the year. It was something like 18 or 19 C the other day in some areas in Aberdeenshire and about 13 or 14 in the town. And it's just the start of April.

I adore living in Aberdeen - to my mind, it's one of the most beautiful places in the country! There's all the convenience of living in a city, but we're surrounded on three sides by some of the most beautiful countryside in the UK and on the fourth side by the sea. There are also loads of gorgeous parks and public gardens, and the suburbs are very pretty too. The majority of buildings in the city centre are all made of local granite which sparkles when the sun hits it and looks stunning at sunset - you've got to see it to believe it! I count myself as very lucky to live here - I've lived in several different places and I'm not originally from here (we moved here when I was almost 11 years old), but it feels like home and I can't imagine living anywhere else in the UK now. Contrary to popular belief, Aberdeen actually gets more hours of sunlight per annum than anywhere else in the country apparently, so it's not always raining. In fact, we've had some beautifully warm and sunny weather this week! Incidentally, if any of our members ever visit Aberdeen, give me a shout - I'd be only to pleased to show you around some of my favourite places here!

I was just having a look at what Wikipedia has to say about Black Beauty and noticed that in the first edition, it actually states "Translated from the original Equine by Anna Sewell", which I think is rather lovely. It was also not originally intended as a children's novel, but aimed at people who worked with horses.I wonder, was Sewell the first to make the adult/children double crossover we see so often nowadays with the likes of the Harry Potter books or The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon?

We've had a couple of classics as Reading Circle books and I know a few of our members are fans of classic literature, so I thought it might be nice to start our own section. At the beginning of the year I decided I was going to tackle a classic a month (which is why this is in with the other challenges) and wondered if anyone would like to join me? According to Wikipedia, the definition of a classic book is this: So, what are you waiting for? Start your own classics thread and join in!

To tell the truth, I was very, very young when I did National Dance and can't rightly remember exactly what it entailed. I think nowadays it might be called Modern Dance. I only remember once specific dance which was called "The Little Dutch Girl" where I wore the national costume and did a dance that was almost like clog dancing, but not wearing clogs. And there is no photographic evidence of me belly dancing - I hate having my picture taken at the best of times, but there were no cameras allowed in the class as quite a few members were very shy and some of the costumes are mighty revealing!