Kell

TEASER TUESDAYS 1. Grab your current read 2. Open to a random page 3. Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 5. Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! My teaser: Synopsis: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the third Roman Emperor, is better known by another name: Caligula, a name synonymous with decadence, cruelty and madness. His reign was marked by excess, huge building projects, the largest gladiatorial battles Rome was ever to see – men and animals killed in their hundreds – conspiracies, assassination attempts and sexual scandal. Rufus as a young slave grows up far from the corruption of the imperial court. His master is a trainer of animals for the gladiatorial arena. Rufus discovers that he has a natural ability with animals, a talent for controlling and schooling them. It is at the arenas that Rufus meets his great friend Cupido, one of Rome’s greatest gladiators. It is his growing reputation as an animal trainer and his friendship with Cupido that attracts the cruel gaze of the Emperor. Caligula wants a keeper for the imperial elephant and Rufus is bought from his master and taken to the imperial palace. Life here is dictated by Caligula’s ever shifting moods. Caligula is as generous as he is cruel, he is a megalomaniac who declares himself a living god and simultaneously lives in constant fear of the plots against his life. But his paranoia is not misplaced, intrigue permeates his court, and Rufus and Cupido find themselves unwittingly placed at the centre of a conspiracy to assassinate the Emperor. What I think of it so far: This is my first of four choices as part of the Transworld Book Group. I picked it up last night and started reading, Before I knew it, I’d read eight chapters. I adore historical novels, especially those set in ancient Rome, so this one is right up my street. It gripped me from the very start and I only put it down last night because I was so tired I almost dropped the book!

That's great to know - and I, for one,will be off t ohave a look at that blog right about now.

I've found some self published authors who turned out to be complete gems - but I didn't pay for them - I was sent the books for review. Now, I keep my eyes peeled for more by those authors - I've been anxiously awaiting further works by Andrew E Shipley after finding his debut self-published novel (The Messenger) to be nothing short of brilliant. (Sorry, but I just HAVE to leave a link to it in the hope that it will encourage someone else to read it too!*). If I had a Kindle, I would be very inclined to give some of the self-published authors a try as I'm sure that if there is one gem, then there are others, and they need all the support they can get. And when they self publish using Kindle, they get all the profits from the sale, no matter how large or small, which is a great improvement on having to charge more for a physical book and getting only a small percentage of the returns for your work. My only hope/wish is that more self-published authors would take the time and care to get a professional, or at least experienced, proof reader in, as there are often myriad errors in the form of spelling, grammar, plot holes and layout that crop up and the author doesn't seem to notice. Fresh eyes are always a good idea! * Incidentally, it's also available on Kindle now.

I’m part of the Transworld Book Group! Running from August to October Transworld are letting bloggers pick four titles from the list below to be sent for review. Review the book on your blog or on Amazon and send them the link, then they’ll send you out the second book on your list. It’s as easy at that! So, I applied to be part of the Transworld Book Group and very quickly got confirmation that I’d been accepted. Not only that, but this morning, I received the first of my four books! You can colour me excited! The four books I’ve chosen are: 1. Caligula by Douglas Jackson 2. Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll 3. Crippen by John Boyne 4. The Colour of Death by Michael Cordy I’ll be starting Caligula as soon as I’ve finished my current book, so probably tomorrow. The review will follow soon after. I think I’m going to enjoy this!

ROFLOL stands for Rolling On Floor Laughing Out Loud.

Ouch - Top Gear caught out yet again! Don't get me wrong - I enjoy watching the show occasionally, but they do seem to dump on the rules a lot, and it's getting more often and more obvious each time! In other news, apparently the whole north east of England and most of Scotland is now on high alert for flash flooding after torrential rain. It's raininghere in Aberdeen, but doesn't look too bad at the moment. Hope everyone is safe and flood free!

It's more about Toby returning - they're really rather good! I adored both the TV show and the book. I read the boko first though. The radio show is awesome, the book is brilliant and the TV show is a classic. The film, however, was an abomination - LOL!

I read one or two in my youth. A notable one was Rain Man which was novelised by Leonore Fleischer. It was actually pretty good. I also read the novelisation of the film Bram Stoker's Dracula by Fred Saberhagen and James V Hart. A pretty decent one, but still nowhere near as good as the original novel by Stoker. I recently read some graphic novels which were set as sequels to the film Labyrinth - they were excellent. ETA: One pretty awesome novelisation is The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy and Anthony Shaffer - a really great read!

I think they mean it's not a true rhyme. For example, "say" and "pay" are true rhymes as they have the same amount of syllables with only one letter changed (the first one, obviously) and are pronounced in the same way. "Narnia", although soudning similar to "barmier" isn't a true rhyme, as one ends in "nia" and the other ends in "mier". The "r" should legitimately be pronounced in the latter, whereas there is no "r" at the end of the former. Therefore Narnia should be pronounced Nar-nee-a, and does not rhyme with bar-mee-er.

I detested that book with a passion, so nothing will EVER tempt me to watch that film - LOL I find Kubrick's The Shining incredibly over-rated. However, I think if they had managed to mix the intensity from that and the slow build-up to madness form the mini-series, we might have had a perfect version... As a film, if you hadn't read the book, it could be quite fun to watch, but I was apalled that they added such nonsense as all that cr@p on the Vogon planet and all the nonsense with Zaphod's head being held to ranson. If they had left those out and stuck to the book, they could have actually filmed the whole book and had the film finish at the same point it does, leaving it open for the rest of the series. One thing I DID like was how they handled the two heads thing - having them one on top of the other, with one being hidden in the clothes was a great get-around to having an extra head on his shoulder. I also did like Sam Rockwell's zany interpretation of the character, but he was stuck in a movie that sucked royally, more's the pity! I'm not a particular fan of the book (although I read the whole series and otehrs by thay author in my youth), but that was a TERRIBLE adaptation. imean, really, why change so much of it, including the end, leaving yourself absolutely no scope for the posiblility of sequels? It was the very definition of awfulness on every level! Chocolat has been mentioned - I enjoyed the film and LOVED the book, but I was baffled at the pointless changes they made in the movie. I Am Legend, well I saw the film and thought it sucked big time .I've not read the book yet, but I keep meaning to. Perhaps I shall bump it up my list of titles to get.

Can you give some examples of books you've enjoyed like this? That would give us something more to go on...

Hey, I'm Aberdeen too!

July Book Round-Up Another month, another batch of books finished. Not so many this month, but still a few more under the belt, and another 5/5 book in there too! RATINGS: 1/5 Dire – don’t waste your time 2/5 OK, but nothing to write home about 3/5 Very good – worth a read 4/5 Excellent 5/5 Superb – read it immediately! BOOKS FINISHED: 42. Maria V Snyder – Magic Study (Study 2) - 3/5 A little slower and not quite as exciting as the first book in the trilogy, but still pretty good. This continues Yelena’s story as she returns to her family and begins studying to bring her magical abilities under control. It’s filled with intrigue and adventure, and was certainly interesting enough to warrant me completing the trilogy, so expect to hear from me about the last installment some time soon! 43. Barbara Ewing – The Mesmerist - 3/5 I picked this one up for £1 (I’m a sucker for a bargain!) and loved the cover, so it found its way into the shopping trolley. Well, can you blame me? I figured it would bridge the gap till I could get to the library again and get the next in the several series I’m currently reading. It started quite slowly then picked up a little and held my interest to the very end. 44. Julia Golding – Den of Thieves (Cat Royal 3) - 3/5 This series just keeps getting better and better! In the earlier books, we’ve touched on political activism, freedom of speech and slavery; this time it’s the French Revolution! Cat Royal is really growing and improving over the course of the series and I have high hopes for the rest of them! 45. Philip Pullman – The Tiger in the Well (Sally Lockhart 3) - 3/5 This third installment and it is the best so far, but also the most harrowing to read – Harriet (Sally’s daughter) is of a similar age to my son, and someone is trying to take her away from her mother, so it’s a terrifying thought for a mother reading this book! I actually had nightmares because of it. However, it did not deter me from continuing with the novel. It also focuses on subjects of socialism, equality of the sexes (or lack thereof) and persecution of minorities and immigrants, so it’s got some very serious issues thrown in there, making this a very interesting read! 46. Cody Young – American Smile - 4/5 Full review HERE. 47. Douglas Carlton Abrams – The Lost Diary of Don Juan - 3/5 This was another £1 bargain from the pound shop – double the bargain because it’s a hardback book! I picked it up simply because I thought the cover looked elegant and I’m pleased to report that the writing reflects that elegance. It has a little titillation, but nothing graphic or sordid, and it’s rather a joy to read. 48. James Long – Ferney - 5/5 The £1 bargains are turning out to be wonderful lately! This one really intrigued me. The writing is compelling and the characters warm. It’s also rather eerie as the relationship between Gally and Ferney grows. Utterly spellbinding from start to finish, this is one of those novels that grabs hold of you and just won’t ever let you go. Throughout reading Ferney, I kept experiencing the strongest sense of deja vu, so much so that I almost became convinced I had read it before, although I know for certain I hadn’t. It really is a stunning book and since I finished it I’ve kept thinking and thinking about it! BOOKS STARTED (carrying over to August): F E Higgins – The Black Book of Secrets (Sinister City 1) Another young adult series I’ve started. So far, so good!

Sorry, I misread the question, so I've deleted my earlier answer! The worst movie family for me would be The Corleones - Michael Corleone has his own brother killed off, so I wouldn't want to risk being related to him in any way!!!

We had reading level books too. Fortunately, I had a reading age so far ahead of the rest of the kids that during the last few years of first school, they would order in books from the middle school for me. Unfortunately, thsi meant that once I started middle schol (I was only there for a year before we moved to Aberdeen), they had to order in books from the high school for me - LOL! When we got to Scotland, I was mortified to be put into Primary 7 (the correct class fo rmy age) as I'd already studied everything they were doing. Unfortunately, they have no facility for advancing students during Primary school age here. I was doing the book reviews forms they used for 1st and 2nd year at the academy. Once I started secondary school at the academy, I had to move onto the book reviews forms they were using for the Standard Grade pupils in 3rd and 4th year. At the end of first year, they devised a prize for me based on the hundred or so book reviews I'd written. The prize was a copy of What Katy did. I had read it about 4 years previously and thought it babyish then. I wasn't amused. Of course, I sais "thank you" and how lovely it was. Then I promptly gave it to my sister who is 3 1/2 years younger than me - LOL!

Be gone! Be gone, foul demon!!!

Tippex???? I think I'm going to be a little sick at that sugestion, even though I'm completely certain Raven was joking - LOL!

Library acquisitions this morning: Julia Golding – Cat O’ Nine Tails (Cat Royal 4) Philip Pullman – The Tin Princess (Sally Lockhart 4) F E Higgins – The Black Book of Secrets (Sinister City 1) Kevin Crossley-Holland – The Seeing Stone (Arthur Trilogy 1)

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY I don’t get much reading time these days, so most of my reading gets done in bed. The last couple of days I’ve been so engrossed in reading Ferney by James Long, that I’ve read till after 1.30am. However, in my daft youth, if I had nothing on the next day, it wasn’t unusual for me to continue reading till it was light!

Well, my Dad is in his 60s and has always bought cards himself for all friends and family members - male and female alike, so I don't think it's anything to do with age or sexuality (he's straight). I thin kit's more to do with personality.

Paula - I think you'll really enjoy it! I'm loving it - it's warm and comforting, but strangely eerie and slightly claustrophobic too...

W... W... W... Wednesdays * What are you currently reading? * What did you recently finish reading? * What do you think you’ll read next? What are you currently reading? James Long – Ferney See yesterday’s Teaser Tuesday for a snippet of this excellent novel. What did you recently finish reading? Douglas Carlton Abrams – The Lost Diary of Don Juan This was another £1 bargain from the pound shop – double the bargain because it’s a hardback book! I picked it up simply because I thought the cover looked elegant and I’m pleased to report that the writing reflects that elegance. It has a little titillation, but nothing graphic or sordid, and it’s rather a joy to read. What do you think you’ll read next? I’m heading to the library tomorrow and hope to pick up the fourth books in the Sally Lockhart (The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman) and Cat Royal (Cat O’ Nine Tails by Julia Golding) series. If they’re there, one of those will be my next book.

LOL - true - most men that I know of tend to need a reminder from one of the women in their life (mum, sister, girlfriend, wife, mate, whatever).

It was published last year. See HERE. Apparently unavailable on Amazon at the moment, but hopefully you should be able to order it from the library or from a bookshop near you...

This is where I wish I had a dishwasher too...