Kell

I've just finished sorting out my order & am now dying to get my hands on this! Not only have I heard good reports from folks on here, but I liked the sound of the synopsis anyway AND there's the added bonus of being able to say "I know the author - she's on the same forum as me" when people ask!

Tiger - you smartypants! I had to think twice about "anachronisms". Sometimes I suspect you're a lot older than you are! What's been your favourite part so far? Do you have a favourite character too?

I've actually just PM'd KW in the hopes of buying an autographed copy when it's available...

This is getting more & more intriguing - I'm going to have to get a copy of this book!

Is my memroy failing me, or is The Hallows where the Weezleys live? If I'm wrong, I don't know where I got that idea, but it's jumped into my head for some reason. If it is, could Percy (that most weasely of Weezleys) have something to do with it? After all, he's working for the Ministry of Magic & isn't Harry's biggest fan...

The only one I've ever read was Jurassic Park, but I've read it several times now, as I enjoyed it so much. I loved all the scientific bits - the descriptions were never too complicated to understand, but Crichton never "dumbed down" either, & they added to the story. All the Chaos Theory sections were great too - describing how, no matter what happens, nature will always find a way to thrive against all odds.

Every now & then, we get a visitor called the Archive Pixie. She whizzes through all the older, closed & defunct threads on the forum & then whisks them off the her hidden domain known as The Great Archive. Do not worry, however, as the Archive Pixie is a friendly soul - she does not affect anyone's post count - she only moves the old posts out of view to a place where they can rest together (kind of like an "Old Posts Home"). So, if an old thread you were looking for seems to have diappeared, call on one of the Mod Squad (who are all good friends of forum pixie-folks) & we can tell you where it is. Or, if it's something you really want to talk about & it's not there, you can always start a new thread for a fresh discussion.

I know that michelle, mong others, have previously read other books by Jonathan Stroud. How does Buried Fire compare with those other books? Are there similar themes & characters, or is this one completely different? Is Stroud's style pretty much consistent, or are there differences in his "voice" between his books? Also, i was wondering how many others had read other books involving dragons & how Buried Fire campares with them - similarlities, differences, new ideas, etc?

Just wanted to add that as I've finished this one now, if anyone else would like to read it & join in the discussion, I can pass it on to you for the price of postage... ... In fact, on second thoughts, it's only about 55p, so if you want it, it's up for grabs for the princely sum of 0p (I'll even post overseas if you want it badly enough!) on the condition that you read it & make a post here to let us know what you thought of it. Just drop me a PM if you're interested.

I exchanged one of my duplicate books today,so I now have The Prestige by Christopher Priest to add to my Christmas haul. It was recommended to me by a guy whose blog I regularly read - it's one of his all-time favourite books (from long before the folm was made) and he made such a song & dance about it that i was intrigued. I want to see the film too, so I'll have to decide which I want to do first - read it or watch it!

I hope you'll enjoy it. I lent my copy to my Mam as I think it's something that'll be right up her street. Quite an unusual book, but I loved the whole concpet & Colainto's style - I'll certainly be reading more of his work.

It's funny, really, until there was a discussion on this forum (it's around here somewhere) on the romance genre in general being dissed, I hadn't realised I was so anti-romance myself. Then I got to thinking that it's probably because I've tarred them all with the Mills & Boon stereotype. Many of the books that are firmly entrenched in other genres have strong elements of romance in them, for example, Philiappa Gregory's historical fiction & countless "chick lit" novels. (speaking of which, Chick-lit often seems to get a bit of a bashing too). Which genres do you think might be best suited to reading circles? Any in particular? I've also noticed that reading groups seem to tend to be mostly female. Would any of the guys here like to perhaps suggest ideas that might attract them to a reading group? After all, it would be nice to get a balanced point of view from as many angles as possible when discussing books...

There now seems to be a whole swathe of books about reading groups, such as The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble or The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler too. In the latter case, the group in question focuses on the works of a single author within the group. Would this kind of thing appeal to anyone else who takes part in a reading circle? Or perhaps a group that read a certain genre, such as the classics, or something like "Great American Writers" or "Foreign authors"? Would that kind of thing appeal to anyone? Or would that be something that,personally, put you off joining a group in the first place?

Thanks, Kernow, yes, this is all interesting to me! I also love it when a book has a reading guide, but more & more of them have guides online these days which can help a discussion along. I think I shall have a look & see if there are any for January's reading Circle choice of The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. It's interesting to see that quite a few groups end up choosing the same books - for example, We Need to Talk About Kevin cropped up both at the Posh Club & the readnig circle here, as well as your group, Kernow, & yours, Sugar. I wonder how much we're influenced by the media in general when choosing books we think might be appropriate for group discusions? Does anyone have any comment on that? Or has anyone followed a national reading club such as Richard & Judy?

Sorceress was definitely aimed a little higher, age-wise, than Witch Child - I hope you enjoy it. It's written in a completely different style, but the story, I thought, was rather good.

I there anything in particular that might attract you to a reading circle, KW? Perhaps if it were a genre-based group covering books from a genre you particularly liked?

thing I did rather like was how many of the names & nicknames were related to chess - a game of skill. Initially, we're introduced to the King & the Pawn,telling thier respective stories, there's a teacher called Bishop & a pupil called Knight who play major parts in the action, & then there's the nickname, Queenie, later on - very clever,I thought. And a lot of the character names seemed to be very discriptive - Meek, Tidy & Dare...

Although I'm a huge Pratchett fan, I've never read any of the Johnny books, nor did I watch the TV programme. I've heard they're very different in style from his Discworld novels, so i'll be interested in hearing what everyone thinks of these - how do they compare to the Discworld books, for those who've read them too? - I may even be tempted to read them myself...

You're welcome - glad I could help! It's certainly not as heavy-going or challenging book, but it's light & humorous, & just the ticket during the dark winter months to lighten your spirits.And if you've ever looked after kids, I think you'll see a lot of truth in it all...

Thanks for replying, Sugar. Our Posh Club meets monthly (usually on the last Tuesday of the month) in a pub too (we've tried several places but the one we use now has plenty of comfy chairs & several areas sectioned off that mnakes it fel like we've got our own little space). We take it in turns for members to nominate two or three books to choose from & take a vote on it - we've had some very interesting choices too. We read We need to Talk About Kevin (like you), My Sister's Keeper, Q&A, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, & Notes on a Scandal to name just a few. We also occasionally meet up to do something non-book related. There have been several trips including a jazz gig & the Word festival, as well as this festive season, some went to the panto whilst the rest of us all had a lovely meal together. I agree that meeting up with people in person definitely pushes you to read the books, even if you're not enjoying them as much as you'd hope, but it's certainly broadened my reading horizons & I've discovered several authors I'd like to explore more in the future (even if it takes me a while to get to them again!). Is there anyone else wsho takes part in a reading circle, whether online or ni person? WHat do you like about it, or is there any aspect you dislike at all?

I was just reading a little information on the TV adaptation, & apparently 2.6 million viewers tuned in for the 1st half, but only 1.5 million came back for the 2nd half, which is a shame, because of the two parts, I thought the 2nd was marginally better. Indicentally, if anyone missed it & still wants to see, it's repeated on SkyTWO tonight & tomorrow night, & then again on 30th & 31st December on the same channel. -------------------------- One of my favourite parts in the book involves some of my least-favourite characters - I've never been a huge fan of the Wizards, but the scene in the Unseen University, where the Wizards lie in wait for the Hogfather in the library is so funny. The whole concept of whether the Librarian would already have been visited because he's an ape (either because he visits primates 1st in accordance with Ponder Stibbons' theories of evolution, or because apes start with A & humans start with H & it's all done alphabetically) always has me in stitches.

What, in particular, did you enjoy most about it, Liz? It has so much to recommend it, but I loved the way it moved between the two timeframes quite seemlessly & the characters were all people I could recognise from real-life, which made it all the easier to get into it all.

I think I quite possibly will at some point now, Michelle - i may have been convinced!

Author: Jonathan Stroud ISBN # 0099402475 Publisher: Red Fox First Published: 1999 300 pages Rating: 7/10 Synopsis: When Michael staggers home red-eyed and confused from an afternoon alone on the hill, his family suspect sunstroke, or even drugs. But the truth is more terrifying than that. By digging up a Celtic cross in the churchyard, church excavators have released the evil influences of a dragon long buried under the neighbouring hill, and powerful forces are at large Sinister neighbours have already yielded to the enticements of this power and are determined to make Michael one of their own. The fragile bonds that link Michael with his brother and sister are seemingly about to be destroyed in a fight for his soul... Review: I

Author: Kathleen Ernst ISBN # 0525476865 Publisher: Dutton Children