Kell

OOh, I hope you enjoy Geisha of Gion - I enjoyed that one a LOT!

i'm sure that's a lyrc to a song too... "She said, 'There's something in the woodshed'..." Can't for the life of me remember who it's by though... ETA: The band is The Devine Comedy and the song is Something for the Weekend

An even better one would be Worcestershire. And for those who want to know how that's pronounced:

I've read it and enjoyed it, though not quite as much as I did the other two Tiffany Aching books (though I'm not sure why). It was very good, but didn't make such an impression on me as the others. I think it'll be interesting to see if he does any more Tiffany books as I think she's a great character - I think she's very like Granny Weatherwax must have been as a young girl - veryunconventional and knowing full well that she knows best, even when the grown-ups think otherwise.

I know, it's strange - but Dale can't complain if I'm not BUYING them - if I find a book on the bus or an a park bench with no obvious owner, I'm not going to leave it there - the chances are it'll just get put in a bin or lost in a mess of other lost jumble - I'd rather make sure it got a good home where it'd get read. Of course, if I found it in a place where it's obvious that someone may have just accidentally left it (say, in the staff restaurant), I'd send out a message saying I'd found a book in such & such a place, & would whoever owns it like to come & pick it up? but if nobody then claimed it, i'd class it as fair game, read it & then pass it around - it's what books are made for.

I found a book today & thought it might be registered, but it's not, so i now have a copy of The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan - hurrah!

I hope yo'ull enjoy it, Tiger - I look forward to hearing what you think of it.

Start with the 1st one - Cold Granite, then follow it up with the 2nd, Dying Light. He's only written the 2 so far & I'm ddesperately waiting for another!

I did have a Listal account, but I kinda lost interest in it - I rather like the LibraryThing set-up though...

Have just added you to my watch list too, Gyre.

True - perfect excuse for us to foist McBride on another willing vicitm, Nicky - we can heartily recommend him and you'd get a nice little flurry of postcards from us in the Frozen North!

I've just been along & added you all to my watch list. I'm down there as kell_smurthwaite, so I'm hard to mistake for anyone else!

That's a good idea, V - all the books that I swap get registered, though only a few get logged at the other end (which is a shame, but there you go). I like being able to see where they end up...

Thank you, KW, that's very kind of you.

The Palm Pilot encourages page-folding????? AAaarrgghh! Now, I would prefer a pretty bookmark icon, that way I wouldn't have to feel guilty (because, strangely, I would, if I had to click an icon for folding the corner down...)

They come in all different shapes - i used to have pointy ones shaped like arrow heads. In a way, they're a bit like paper clips, in that they're shaped metal that has a hole in the middle with another bit of metal coming down the way, so that you can slipthem onto the page at the appropriate place.

I know - I'm secretly gleeful that I've escaped further scrutiny myself - LOL!

I have a variety of "proper" bookmarks that I use at home, including a set of Kelley Armstrong ones (a gift from a very good buddy) and a beautiful knot-work one from another friend. In my "portable" paperbacks, though, I use those little removeable sticky index tabs, as i'm able to stick them exactly where I finish on the page and they don't fall out in my bag - very handy!

If anyone hase any questions, please feel free to ask... My life is an open book! (I had to put this line into another post because, me being me, I'd made my previous post too long and had to edit it all again!)

THE BASICS: Full Name – Kell Smurthwaite Age – 39 Location – Northumberland Marital Status/Children – Happily married to Dale since 1st August 2003 / Son - Xander / Son - Josh Date You Joined The Book Club Forum – 18/10/05 Favourite bands/singers - Dream Theater; Duran Duran; Metallica; Queen; David Bowie Favourite movies - His Girl Friday; Arsenic and Old Lace; Bell, Book and Candle; Vertigo; 300; Dangerous Liaisons; Valmont Favourite books - The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis; The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett; The Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong; The Romans series by Simon Scarrow; The collected works of Christopher Brookmyre and Stuart MacBride Favourite authors - Terry Pratchett, Kelley Armstrong, Simon Scarrow, Christopher Brookmyre, Jane Austen, Philippa Gregory, Stuart MacBride, Richard Castle. Why did you join The Book Club Forum? I was looking for a place where I could chat with other chronic bibliophiles about the gazillions of books I was reading and happened upon Michelle’s Yahoo Group. I joined up, but was immediately told they’d just moved to a new forum and would I like to join them there? I promptly signed up and I’ve been here ever since! How did you become a member of the Mod Squad? By accident! I’d been a member four or five months and Michelle and I had chatted on and off the forum and discovered we got on famously. If I remember correctly, there were a few days that she was going to be away and asked if I’d like to help out. I accepted and the rest is history. What is the most gratifying part of being staff at The Book Club Forum? What makes you happiest about the site? The fact is, we’re very lucky here at The Book Club Forum, as we have such lovely members and there’s very rarely any bother. I think there’s a really friendly atmosphere and knowing that I’m a part of this community is wonderful. I really do look forward to visiting the site every day, just to catch up on what everyone’s reading and what’s happening in their lives. What is your favourite section of the Book Club Forum and why? I love chatting to the members and getting recommendations for new books and authors that I might not have tried or discovered for myself. The Reading Circle is one area I get a lot out of – it’s great being able to discuss a book you’re reading with other folks who are reading it at the same (or similar) time. And I also love the writers’ forum – there’s such a wealth of talent here on the forum and getting to read some of the work of our members gives me a real kick! We all know you love reading, but what kind of books do you most enjoy and why? I’m a bit of a cross-genre bibliophile, really. I used to be mostly into horror and sci-fi, but I’ve branched out a fair bit over the years. Nowadays I especially love a good historical fiction or crime thriller – especially if there’s a touch of pitch-black humour! Which book do you most often recommend to others and why? I actually tend to recommend entire series – LOL! I think the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong is the one I have directed most people towards, closely followed by all the books of Christopher Brookmyre, and Simon Scarrow’s Romans series. Kelley Armstrong is a great example of a cross-genre author – a touch of supernatural, a sprinkling of relationships (rather than straight romance), and a heavy helping of action thrown in, with a good dose of humour too. Christopher Brookmyre is a satirical crime fiction writer, whose books are pithy yet hilarious, and they work really well as “who-dun-its” too. Simon Scarrow’s Romans series is incredibly well-researched and quite possibly some of the most exciting writing I’ve encountered in recent years – if you’re a fan of great plots and terrific characters, then this is the series for you. Of course, I always recommend Terry Pratchett too, seeing as he’s right at the very top of my list of favourite authors – it’s hard to NOT recommend him! What other interests do you have and what drew you to them? Well, writing is one, although to tell the truth, I’ve not done an awful lot of it as yet, but I do like to occasionally put pen to paper - and I love reviewing the books I read. I also love crochet, cross-stitching and designing my own charts. I love to dance – I’ve done ballet, tap, jazz, national, ballroom, Latin American, and belly dancing in my time! Movies play a major role in my entertainment – we have a vast collection of DVDs in our flat, everything from action to horror, from sci-fi to fantasy; from classic to screwball comedy – they’re all represented. Tell us three unusual and interesting things about yourself… 1. My Mam bought me a tiny plot of land one Christmas. As my land is in Scotland, I am legally entitled to the title of Laird or Lady, so I’m actually Lady Smurthwaite of Kincavel! Don’t worry; I won’t make you all bow or curtsy to me or anything like that… 2. I’ve been a practicing Pagan since my mid-teens. I don’t go in for ritual or all the tools and trappings traditionally associated with it, but I do quietly observe the changing seasons and celebrate the eight festivals in my own way. 3. I’ve had many varied and interesting jobs including actor, choreographer, karaoke hostess, nightclub bouncer, cinema manager, artist’s model, hair model, and directory inquiries operator. Some of them were at the same time!

Yes, there's some violence throughout, Linda, but I think it's balanced quite well with the rest of the story. Of course it's all down to personal taste - I didn't think it all that violent, but then I've enjoyed some really gruesomely graphic books in the past, so by comparison, this one is rather mild, but if I hadn't, perhaps I'd view that differently.

Despite being a HUGE fan of Terry, there are one or two of his Discworld books that I don't like at all (The Colour of Magic,The Light Fantastic, and Eric are the three that I really didn't enjoy at all) - in a series of this length (there are over 35 of them now), there will always be one or two that don't appeal to everyone. Some people can't get on board with Pratchett's style of writing at all. For example, I always thought Pratchett would really appeal to my Mam's sense of humour, but she can't read the books at all - she hates that there are no distinct chapters for a start, but she also really can't get on with his style. I really loved Hogfather, but it's not one of my absolute favourites in the series - more of a secondary one instead. However, if you were new to Pratchett before the reading circle and this one didn't float your boat, please don't be completely put off, as I really do believe he has something for everyone.

For me, the symbolism that standed out most was in the painting of The Last Supper - the "V" shape between Jesus & the figure here thought of as Mary Magdelene symbolising the chalice (which is symbolism is the female as devine) or vessel that holds something sacred (in this case, the bloodline of Christ) was excellent. It was the key to the entire theory behind the story.

I have it on my own TBR pile, so you can borrow mine any time you like PP.

Yes, I read it just at the end of last year. I think it's one of those books that you either really, really like or hate. When I was reading it, a colleague came up to me & said she'd really disliked it & got really angry at the characters, but I rather enjoyed it myself. It's an unusual subject matter & it's approached very tactfully. It's certainly one that gets you thinking. I hope you'll enjoy it.