Kell

This is my fave Philippa Gregory to date (& it was also the 1st one of hers I read). I'm hoping to get The Boleyn Inheritance for Xmas...

I read this one recently - it was certainly a break from the norm for me, but I think the fact that I'm from that area & recognised a lto of the places made it a little bit better for me than it otherwise would have done. Benita Brown has been likened to Catherine Cookson (who also set he books in Northumberland) & she's such a sweetiepie. When I interviewed her for the main page, she was so lovely! I hope that some time when I go down the road I'l be able to meet up with her as she seems so nice.

You think so? I thought the covers with Twoflower actually having 4 eyes (rather than wearing glasses as he was supposed to) was just horrid - I detest those covers - they actually make me feel a little bit sick looking at those lumpy, misshapen characters.

Finished Undead & Unemployed - fun, light read that I finished in no time at all. I'm still in a lighter mood though, so I'm going to give Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb a go...

I loved them all, but Goblet just pipped then all for me.

LOL - thanks, Gyre! I try to be varied, but sometimes I get stuck in my ways a bit with genres or authors, & I do tend to love a lot of the books that are aimed at teens & young adults these days (I think I maybe missed out a bit when I was a kid by jumping straight to adult fiction - & by that I don't mean the naughty stuff - LOL!). I've been trying a few foreign authors as part of the Olympic Challenge, but I haven't got round to all that many of them just yet, although I have quite a few just waiting to be read. At the moment, Im' in the mood for something a bit lighter & pulpy after having read a couple of darker, more serious books, just to wake my brain up again & get me a bit more excited.

I haven't got a copy yet, but as I'm beign sent another couple of books to review direct from a publisher, as well as having the Posh Club book to read, I might join in with The Shining later on. i certainly intend to read it though!

Neil Gaiman is an excellent writer - well worth loking out for more of his books.

I remember the My Naighty Little Sister books & also Mrs Pepperpot, but I have never once seen a Milly Molly Mandy book.

Tjhis is my fave HP book so far, Tiger - I loved it!

The Kidby covers are my faves, but I think the black Pratchett covers look kinda classy.

If you haven't read the first one, Cold Granite, already, go back & read it first. They're both excellent, but you'll get a better "feel" for the characters if you start at the beginning, as there are occasional references to events from CG &, although it doesn't really impact on the sotry in DL, you'll enjoy it more if you read them in the right order. But definitely try them - Macbride could very easily be a new favourite of mine - I'll eagerly await his 3rd novel to see if he can keep this up!

It took me longer than usual to finish The Secret Purposes, but it was definitely worth taking a little time over this one - what an excellent book! if you haven't read it, I heartily recommend it. Forget your expectations of Baddiel the funny-man & be very pleasantly surprised. After such a great read, I hope my follow-up isn't a disappointment - I'm moving on to Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller for the posh Club November read. Actually, on second thoughts, I think I'll read something quick & light in between & go for Undead & Unemployed by Maryjanice Davidson, then move onto Notes...

The Secret Purposes Author: David Baddiel ISBN # 0349117462 Publisher: Abacus First published: 2004 408 pages Rating: 8/10 The Blurb: The Secret Purposes, David Baddiel's third novel, takes us into a little-known and still somewhat submerged area of British history: the internment of German Jewish refugees on the Isle of Man during the Second World War. Isaac Fabian, on the run with his young family from Nazism in East Prussia, comes to Britain assuming he has found asylum, but instead finds himself drowning in the morass of ignorance, half-truth, prejudice, and suspicion that makes up government attitudes to German Jews in 1940. One woman, June Murray, a translator from the Ministry of Information, stands out - and when she comes to the island on a personal mission to uncover solid evidence of Nazi atrocities, her meeting with Isaac will have far-reaching consequences for both of them. A haunting and beautifully written tale of love, displacement and survival, The Secret Purposes profoundly questions the way that truth - both personal and political - emerges from the tangle of history. The Review: David Baddiel has long been a fixture on the hot-list of British comedic talent and his previous two novels, Time for Bed and Whatever Love Means, although not played for obvious laughs, showed evidence of his comedy background throughout his portrayal of modern relationships. However, with The Secret Purposes, Baddiel shows maturity and a deeper understanding of people under pressure, making this novel a groundbreaking achievement for him as a talented writer. This heartrending portrayal of families split apart during World War II due to the interment of Jews on the Isle of Man is both passionate and compassionate, uncovering the extent to which the persecution of an entire race was perpetrated, not only by the Nazis, but by the nation to whom many of them turned for help

Dying Light Author: Stuart Macbride ISBN # 0007193157 Publisher: Harper Collins First Published: 2006 432 pages Rating: 9/10 The Blurb: It's summertime in the Granite City: the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and people are dying! It starts with a prostitute, stripped naked and beaten to death down by the docks - the heart of Aberdeen's red light district. For DS Logan MacRae, it's a bad start to another bad day. Only a few short months ago, he was the golden boy of Grampian police. But one botched raid later, he's palmed off on a DI everyone knows is a jinx, waiting for the axe to fall with all the other rejects in the 'Screw-up Squad'. Logan's not going to take it lying down. He's determined to escape DI Steel and her unconventional methods, and the best way to do that is to crack the case in double-quick time. But Rosie Williams won't be the only one making an unscheduled trip to the morgue. Across the city, six people are burning to death in a petrol-soaked squat, the doors and windows screwed shut from the outside. And despite Logan's best efforts, it's not long before another prostitute turns up on the slab! Stuart MacBride's characteristic grittiness, gallows humour and lively characterisation are to the fore in his un-put-down-able second novel, confirming his status as the rising star of crime fiction. The Review: This is the second novel by Stuart MacBride and is a sequel to the excellent Cold Granite. I’ll admit to being a tiny bit biased as, once again, this novel is set in Aberdeen, which is home to me, so I recognised all the locations as well as the people, but familiarity only counts for an insignificantly small part of my overall rating. Thankfully, this time round, it’s set during the summer (Cold Granite’s setting was the run-up to Christmas, so the weather was, understandably, appalling, even if that is a cliché in connection with Aberdeen), so the descriptions of the sparkling buildings and Aberdonians wandering about in short-sleeved shirts, soaking up the sunshine (yes, there was still some rain, but in moderation this time!) during the daylight hours, and tottering about in skimpy outfits during nights on the town (although, to be fair, young Aberdonian women do that in the foulest of weather – we’re dead hard up North!). The writing is as tense as it was in the prequel, leading one to believe that this will be characteristic of Macbride in future offerings; his characters are developed more fully here as we have already been introduced to them prior to this, but this could still easily be read without having first delved into Cold Granite, although there are references to past events. The plot is finely tuned and MacBride does not make the rookie mistake of having the entire police department focus on just one single crime – there’s a lot happening here, keeping everyone on their toes and making this a gripping read. As a follow-up to an exciting debut, MacBride has proven that he can sustain the suspense and should become a forced to be reckoned with within the crime fiction genre – I can highly recommend giving him a try.

Well, I shall be starting it next, I think, as I finished The Secret Purposes this evening...

Have just realised I'm almost finished this one (I expect to finish it this evening at some point) & haven't really commented at all! Having read Baddiel's previous 2 books (Time for Bed & Whatever Love Means) I already knew to expect the unexpected, as those two books were very different fro each other, despite both essentially being about complex adult relationships. The Secret Purposes does too, but it also comments on the nature of religion & national identity, & what effect that has on those relationships in the context of a major war during which these people face persecution & prejudice on a daily basis. I'm finding it very interesting to read of how those prejudices carried over from Germany & were continued (albeit diluted) in Britain, with the segregation of Jews & other German nationals from the rest of the country, despite the fact that the vast majority were genuine assylum-seekers. This feels very real as I'm reading it & I'm identifying with even those characters with whom I have very little in common.

I'm not actually a fan of Ianto at all - he just strikes me as a bit of a fifth wheel on the team - the one that stays behind in the office, orders the pizza & makes the coffee - he's just incredibly dull. I agree about the but I thought it was generally a good romp & much better than the most recent season of Dr Who (which I thought was generally lacklustre & increasingly pointless - I very much doubt I'll be watching the next season as I really don't like Tennant as the Dr at all!). Still looking forward to the next episode though - I'm very interested in seeing how it develops. Plus, there seems to be an awful lot of sexual tension between Gwen & pretty much all the male characters, which seems a bit odd for someone who has a boyfriend waiting at home. I mean, i can understand her fancying Jack (what's NO to fancy there, eh?) but .

Actually, I have to admit, I love the new Pratchett paperback covers - all black with classy black & white photos on the front that are something appropriate to the story. I hated the Josh Kirby covers with those grotesque gnomy-type characters spillnig out all over the placein garish colours. I've been much happier since Paul Kidby started doing them instead, but I've still got loads of Kirby coverson my shelf that are completely hideous - ick!

I think a large part of it is that they do different covers for different countries, in order to appeal to some generic stereotype in that particular market, hence the covers in the UK are often different from the ones in the USA, which are again different from the ones Down Under. I agree though, it can be rather annoying. Although, sometimes it means you can find a nicer cover if you prefer one of the ones from abroad, & with the internet, getting hold of them is a lot easier nowadays.

Now," she was saying in a heavy German accent, "vee hev extracted ze eyeballs! I shall allow each of you a short time to examine zem. Please pass zem to your neighbour promptly ven you hev finished." ~ Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller (it's worth mentioning, it's at a kids' party!)

I was given the first three to review, but I couldn't get into them - too many inconsistencies. From my point of view, if you have a mouse so small it's struggling to carry a couple of hazlenuts, you can't then have a rat who rides in on horseback - it just doesn't work for me. I got only a few chapters intot he 1st one & had to give up.

yup - they're considered a trilogy of five. LOL!

I was forced to watch the film for my media studies class & it was truly dire. I couldn't believe I'd wasted all that time on something so dull!

Glad you enjoyed the Brookmyre, Mau - he's one of my faves.