Kell

Excellent - it'll be good to hear how the town has changed (ir stayed the same, even!). Glad to hear Mike was still there when you visited - his quizes were always the best!

You've been to Smithies? Tell me, does Mike still run the place? When we knew him, he had dark hair & a thick mustache. Round, amiable face & a cheeky grin. One of my friends (the one who gave our bad the name Catfruit) was going to dedicate a book to him - it was about "Not-Gods" - people who used to be Gods, but came down to live on the planet & give quiet advice to folks in need. They masquerade as tea ladies, janitors & bar tenders, as well as other inoccuous "background" people to whom others are compelled to talk. The dedication was going to read "For Mike - Kirkcaldy's Not-God in Residence".

In what way is it "airy fairy"? You've got my interest now - LOL!

I'd never heard of it before I applied for college there - LOL! I'm something of a scaredy-cat when it comes to going to places alone when I've never been there before, so going away to college was a hige step for me & I couldn't have chosen a better place. It wasn't too small, but it lacked the "big city" feel, so I never felt lost. And the people there are very friendly, so I never felt alone. And of course, there are plenty of very decent pubs, several of which serve excellent food! I often used to eat at The Feuar's Arms down at Pathhead - they had award winning food there & for very reasonable prices. And there was the Cafe Continental, where they serve the best iced latte I've ever tasted. And then there was Fagin's, which looked like an old-man pub, but had the most wonderful atmosphere. Not to forget, Smithies Tavern, where we went to a pub quiz every week & Mike, the barman, would come round with a tray of unusual shots to try (always something we'd never heard of & always a lot of fun!). Lastly, I must mention Betty Nicols which serves liberal helpings of real ale & live music. I used to sing there in a band imaginatively called Catfruit after a character in the novel our lead guitarist was writing (originally Jonathon Catfruit, but changed to Ezekiel Catfruit for some reason we couldn't quite fathom). Either way, the name was better than the one we originally called ourselves which was Folio Deadline. I can't remember why... And that's not even mentioning the restaurants - whatever's your pleasure, from Indian to Thai, from Chinese to Italian, there's something there & there's nothing too pricey either. Crikey, I'm going to have to go back for a visit - I'm missing the place now!

I was chatting to my sis on the phone tonight & metnioed that I'd got hold of a copy of this. She said she'd managed to read all 3 books in little over a week. My sister doesn't read - it took her 6 months to read Jude the Obscure for her Higher English. This is something of a miracle. She's offered to lend me the other 2 when I've read this one.

I'm particularly enjoying the writing style - when she's 6, you can really believe you're listening to the thoughts of a young kid & you see how it all changes as she grows up.

Pop your vote in for Dawn Treader then - come on everyone else - which one do you think is best?

It does sound strange, but it makes an odd kind of sense while you'[re reading it.

I'm about 150 pages in & I'm surprised that it's not nearly so confusing as I thought it would be with all the jumping back & forwards. I'm rather enjoying it so far!

I think a lot of that has to do with the accent perhaps. Then again, it depends on the area - some Scottish accents are incredibly harsh-sounding whereas others are very lilting & musical. Aberdonian kind of rolls off the tongue nicely, even the Doric (old Aberdonian) which is still spoken by many folks round here, old & young, is curiously smooth-flowing.

It was kind of a toss-up for me between The Magician's Nephew & The Silver Chair. The first one described the beginnings of Narnia so beautifully that I always look forward to taking it down off the shelf, but Silver Chair is so much darker than any of the previous stories that you can't help thinking the books have grown up with the reader. I also remember going to see a stage production of it when I was about 9 years old & it was startlingly scary at the time - very mysterious indeed! So, in the end, I had to vote for the later book - I think it had a direct influence on my love of pitch-black books.

Sparked by the Narnia thread, I thought I'd ask which of the books you enjoyed most (if you've read them). What did you like about it specifically & what made it stabnd out from the others? And if you haven't read them, why not?!

I can barely wait for Broken to come out. You can read the 1st chapter on her site - it looks pretty good!

Would anyone else care to wade ni & tell us which they think is best? Anyone for Angels & Demons or Deception Point? Want to fight their corner? Tell us why you like 'em so much - come on, you know you want to!

Author: David Gibbins ISBN # 755324226 Publisher: Headline 1st Published: 2005 http://www.meettheauthor.co.uk/bookbites/838.html Jack Howard, marine archaeologist, is about to get lucky

I heartily agree - I've always been one for a lovely sea view...

So, technically, it should have been called The Battle of Battle? :rofl: Seriously, though, I'd love to go there one day - it sounds like a fascinating place. And Dover, well, I passed through on my way to France one time. Actually, we passed through France too - we were on a school coach trip to Holland to do a show - LOL!

Where I used to live - Kirkcaldy, Fife - Lino town! I went to college in Kircaldy, which is in Fife & just a little North of Edinburgh. I liked it so much that I moved back there after college & stayed for 18 months before lack of cash & loss of job forced a move back to Aberdeen. Kirkcaldy is right on the Scottish Coastal Trail & is, I believe, the only place in Britain that still manufactures linoleum (the rest is all imported). Infact, Kirkcaldy is famous for its lino production & even more famous for the smell that this used to produce when they used the older techniques - apparently you could smell it for miles! It's not a huge town, it's not a pretty town, but it's a very friendly town & I had the timme of my life there. It's also handy for Edinburgh, Scotland's capital, & much cheaper to live there than in the city! There's a wonderful ruined castle down on the beach called Ravenscraig & I used to go clambering about up there in the early hours of the morning when I was still a foolish young student - the sunrises from that vantage point were amazing - you could see right across the Firth of Forth. There's also a wonderful theatre there called The Adam Smith & both myself & my hubby have performed there (though not together). The original Adam Smith Theatre was turned into a cinema (where I worked), but unfortunately, that closed (hence no job). This particular theatre is a very popular venue for touring comedians & you'll see the likes of mark Thomas, Bill Bailey & The Reduced Shakespeare Company turning in sterling performances. It also has, right on the high street opposite where the cinema was, Britain's very best Indian takeaway called The Spicec of Life - their pakora are to die for! (I hope it's still there). There was also, down along from Ravenscraig, britain's best Chinese takeaway, called Michael's Chinese (he was 2nd generation), but it closed when his wife, who did all the fablous cooking, died. it was a sad day indeed as they were a lovely couple who were always kind enough to throw in a few extras for the hungry students (us!) who would come in every Sunday night for their weekly treat! Fife College, where I studied, runs one of the only Theatre & Drama HND courses outside a major city & it was the most fun I ever had. Kirkcaldy will always have a special place in my heart!

I probably wouldn't be able to read it - I've never been able to get through Watership Down as it upsets me so much, but that could be to do with the film - it really freaks me out (I'm such a chicken!). Richard Adams seems to go for really tough subjects when he's writing. The only book of his I've ever read is Maia & it deals with sex slavery! Funnily enough, the 1st time I read it, I got it in our school library - I think our librarian must have just thought "Oh, he wrote Watership Down" & added it to the shelves without checking the content as it's rather risque! I managed to track down a hardback copy years later & it sits on my shelf, wating to be read again (which I do every now & again). It's well hefty though - over 1000 pages!

Anyone else want to tell us about where they live? I can add another one about where I used to live if you like, but I'd like to hear about everyone else too!

Well, to my mind, it was only really bested by Digital Fortress, but that's just my opinion. They've all been a pleasure to read.

I voted for Digital Fortress - I thought the plot was the most believable & that the cryptography technology described in it was amazing. It was also the one where Mr Brown broke from formula a bit & let the leading lady have someone in her life right from the start, rather than having her fall for the leading man (even though both had still had a troubled past - LOL!).

Oh, i've got, like 3 friends, but I know lots of people. They just don't know me - LOL!

. ... Jo this is so true. I remember the first time I came to London I was totally amazed by this! There were 15 people of other nationalities to every British person! We went on a tour bus in London last week & we were told that if you stand in Picadilly Square for a maximum of 37 minutes, you'll see someone you know. Unless you're from the Galapagos Islands apparently.

I've just finished reading my fourth & final Dan Brown book & wondered which one of the four everyone liked best & the reasons behind their choice - just curious...