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Kell

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    Competition - Chris Riddell Drawing [Closed]

    in Competitions & Give Aways

    Posted

    I ADORE Chris Riddell - he's one of my favourite artists and illustrators! I have all The Edge Chronicles which he did with Paul Stewart, and which I adore and have kept, ostensibly for my boys, but really just because I love looking at the artwork in them. I also love the Ottoline books and The Graveyard Book, which he did with Neil Gaiman. The Barnaby Grimes books (again, with Paul Stewart) are also awesome. I also recently read The Sleeper and the Spindle, a graphic novel collaboration with Gaiman, which was absolutely stunning. I just love, love LOVE his work! <3

    Live Music

    in Music / TV / Films

    Posted

    My Hubby joined a band a couple of months ago (as lead vocalist) and they have their first gig this coming Saturday night - it's a wedding evening do. So excited for him, and super excited because I've been invited along too, so I can see his first gig. They were already an established band before he joined, but they had lost their vocalist and needed someone who could step in and be gig-ready quickly - and he fit the bill. :)

    Competition - Colour Me Mindful [Closed]

    in Competitions & Give Aways

    Posted

    A long, luxurious soak in a hot bubble bath with a glass of wine... and a good book, of course! Candles, low lighting, soft music playing, and the door locked - no kids coming in and screaming for Mummy, no hubby asking where something is...

     

    ... Yeah, one can dream - LOL!

     

    I actually go to the gym to relax. I know that sounds weird, but I go to the gym, work out like a beast, go for a swim, then I treat myself to a few minutes each in the jacuzzi and sauna to finish off. It's the only place where I don't have to talk to anyone or be anything to anyone - I can just be me and do something for me. It's my bliss! :)

    10 Books you can't wait to be published

    in General Book Discussions

    Posted

    The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett comes out in August. It's the 41st Discworld novel and the fifth and final in the Tiffany Aching series. It's also the last Discworld novel completed by Pratchett before he died. It's sad to think there will be no more new Discworld books. At least, none written by him. I don't know if there are any unfinished manuscripts that will be finished by someone else. I kind of hope not, to be honest - it just wouldn't be the same.

     

    The Taming of the Queen by Phillipa Gregory is also out this August. It follows the fate of Catherine Parr, sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, and looks rather interesting. I love her historical novels, and I'm especially fond of the Tudor period, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

     

    Brothers In Blood by Simon Scarrow, the thirteenth book in his Romans series, is out next week - I love this series, although I haven't yet read the 12th book (I have it on Mount To Be Read). He also has Britannia coming out in October, which follows the same characters from the Roman series (Cato and Macro), although I don't know if it's officially canon, or if it's a side story.

     

    Black Widow by Christopher Brookmyre is out next January. There's not a lot of info on it, but I think it's a stand-alone novel - it doesn't seem to be attached to any of his established series.

     

    Driving Heat by Richard Castle, the seventh Nikki Heat novel, is out in September, nicely in time for my birthday.

     

    Diana Gabaldon is busily writing the ninth book in the Outlander series, but I don't know if there's an expected publication date for that yet.

     

    That's only seven books, so three authors I wish would write some more are:

    • Brom - I want another beautifully illustrated novel, full of surreal, dark beauty.
    • Suzanne Collins - more in the vein of The Hunger Games would be awesome, please!
    • Stuart MacBride - some more Logan McRae books, please, and also some more sci-fi crime thrillers in the vein of Halfhead would be excellent!

    Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    In ten years time I will be approaching my 49th birthday (how weird does that sound?!). Xan will be 16 (almost 17!) and only a couple of years off finishing school - he will have just finished his exams, and Josh will be 11 (coming up on his 12th birthday!) and almost finished his final year of primary school.

     

    By then, I would love to be a teaching assistant. I plan to retrain once Josh is in full time education, and it'll take a couple of years to complete the courses. I'd love to get a position at the school Xan is at (I'm a parent governor there at the moment). Of course, before i do that, I will have to learn to drive, or I won't be able to actually get to my classes to retrain.

     

    I would like to have several foreign holidays with the kids under our belts by that point too. Dale has never yet left the UK, and I haven't been abroad since the September before we got together (which will be 16 years this September - OMGs!). I really miss the adventure of exploring different countries and cultures, and hope my kids will have the opportunity to develop that same love for discovery and experiences.

     

    I've shed 40lbs this year so far, and have another 50 or so I want shot of. Obviously, I would prefer it didn't take 10 years to get there, and I hope I will have kept the weight off. When I hit my goal weight, I intend to look into the possibility of getting a tummy tuck, as the overhang from my two emergency c-sections is one thing I cannot get rid of with diet and exercise. I might even have had laser eye surgery by then to do away with the necessity of glasses or contact lenses.

    By that time, the house will be almost half paid off, and the solar panels will have been paid off so we'll be actually making money off them. And with me in work again, we'll have a bit more cash to spare for little luxuries and holidays. All told, I think ten years from now will be pretty rosy. :)

    Talent

    in General Chat

    Posted

    I'm a singer, but I really wish I could play an instrument - and preferably be able to sing at the same time. you know, like play the guitar and sing along? Or the violin or something like that. I did learn to play the violin when I was a kid, but when we moved, they didn't teach it at my school, so I didn't do it any more.

     

    I can Zentangle, but I wish I could actually paint and draw. I'd love to be able to create pieces that actually look like the thing they're supposed to be!

     

    I'd love to be able to write. I have a million and one ideas in my head, but I have the most terrible time translating them to the page. They're a tangle of half ideas and none of them connect or have an ending to them. I'd dearly love to have that talent to bring them all together and be able to get them on the page.

     

    I used to dance and am now taking a beginner's class in Ballroom and Latin American dancing, which is fun, but I would love to be able to dance like the folks on Strictly Ballroom - that would be awesome! They look so elegant.

    Competition - Re-released Heinlein Bundle [Closed]

    in Competitions & Give Aways

    Posted

    Well, as I love the film Starship Troopers (it was one of the first blue ray discs we bought when we switched to a blue ray player - we already had it on DVD, but when you're upgrading, your favourites get upgraded first!), I'd read that one first. I never even realised it was adapted from a book till I read this thread (terrible, I know!), and now I really want to read it!

    Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton (Spoilers Included)

    in Group Reads

    Posted

    I went on and read all the later sequels written by Pamela Cox, featuring Felicity (Darrell's younger sister) as the lead character, but they weren't a patch on Enid's books - no life to them - just all dull and flat. Unlike many people commenting, I always rather enjoyed the fifth book, probably because of the panto - even as a young kid, when I first read those books, I wanted to be an actor, so reading about schoolgirls writing and producing their own panto was like a dream to me. In fact, when I finally did a panto, we did Cinderella, and I played Prince Charming - I couldn't help thinking back to the fifth MT book and smiling, thinking, "Hey, Darrell! I did it!"

     

    I was so disappointed by the Cox sequels - if they'd been even half as good as the original books, they would have been alright, but they weren't. There as just no fun or sparkle to them at all. I can't think why anyone let that woman write anything to stand up next to Enid's books!

     

    I did start re-reading the St. Clare's books off the back of finishing this series (Id only ever read the first two as a kid), but just as hen I first read them, I just couldn't get into the characters (and I hated the O'Sullivan twins, who are the main characters of the books, so it didn't make it any easier for me!). I ended up abandoning my attempt after a few books. I may try a few of the original Famous Five books though - I loved Five Run Away Together when I was a kid - I had it on audio tape and played it till it wouldn't play any more - LOL!

    Win a Year's Supply of Books from TorUK [Closed]

    in Competitions & Give Aways

    Posted

    Me! I'd like to enter! Some of my favourites:

     

    The Stand by Stephen King (Unabridged)

    This is a book I've read in all its unabridged glory (well over 1000 pages in hardback!) about a dozen or so times over the years (and it's due a re-read, really!). Opening the pages fells like visiting old friends, and even though I know the story inside out, I never fail to find something new and fresh in there, whether it's something I've forgotten since reading it last, or something I'd missed, or a new realisation that has come with age and experience and allows me to see things more clearly from another angle. To me, King is incorrectly pigeon-holed as a horror writer - he's a student of the human condition, and writes characters that are living and breathing and walking around with you long after you've turned the last page. The Stand is his magnum opus, and everyone should read it at least once in their lifetime.

     

    Lightning by Dean Koontz

    I don't usually enjoy time-travel plots, as paradox really grinds my gears something chronic, but Koontz handles it in a nifty way that is so cleverly simple you wonder why every other time travel writer didn't think of it before. The plot is so tight you couldn't possibly squeeze anything else in there, nor could you leave anything out, and the characters are easily relatable and likeable. You really feel for them. This ventures more into the sci-fi realm than horror (which is where Koontz is usually pitched - again, I think, incorrectly, as he's truly an eclectic!), but even so, it seems so madly plausible and almost everyday, that it never seems out of place that someone is in entirely the wrong time.

     

    Maia by Richard Adams

    This is pure fantasy, and chock full of titillation, almost to the point of pornography in places, as its so erotic, but it's so beautifully written that even though the eroticism is one of the main plot points (a young woman sold as a sex slave by her own mother after she sleeps with her step father!), it often takes a back seat to the panoramic epicness of the intricately woven plot. With a cast of thousands, it's so easy to lose and confuse your readers, but Adams is a master, and the characters are so memorable that, even with unusual names that feel foreign on your tongue, one doesn't easily lose track of the players or their intrigues. It's another door-stop of a book, but well worth picking up - maybe get it on your e-reader so you don't give yourself a hernia lugging it around with you all the time, because you will not want to put it down!

    Alternative film endings

    in Music / TV / Films

    Posted

    One of my favourite screwball type comedies is Clue (1985), which actually has three different endings, and it's awesome!

     

    One film I got really mad at when it reached the end was My Sister's Keeper (2009). They changed the ending from the book and when I realised what had happened, I got so mad I switched it off and didn't watch to the very end - I just couldn't bear it! I mean, that was the whole flipping point of the book, and they trashed it!!!

     

    The third and final installment of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) missed out the whole scourge of the Shire and Sharkey.

     

    Titanic (1997) - Jack TOTALLY WOULD have fit on that bit of wood. There was plenty of room for both of them!

    post-3572-0-26898900-1434134691_thumb.jpg

     

     

    The Last Film You Saw - 2015

    in Music / TV / Films

    Posted

    Mad Max Fury Road. Meh. I love Tom Hardy, and he's an excellent choice for the role of Max, but there's next to no plot and the whole film is basically an extended car chase. I'm all for the occasional "remove brain and enjoy" movie, and there were some decent set pieces, but there was nothing to really keep me engaged. Shame, because I've been looking forward to it - the trailer is way better than the film. :(

    Your Top 10 films!

    in Music / TV / Films

    Posted

    Do I really HAVE to restrict myself to just ten movies??? OK, ten of my very favourite films, in no particular order, are:

     

    1. Bell, Book and Candle (1958)
    2. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
    3. Amadeus (1984)
    4. 300 (2006)
    5. The Princess Bride (1987)
    6. Blithe Spirit (1945)
    7. Rope (1948)
    8. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
    9. Valmont (1989)
    10. His Girl Friday (1940)

    There are many more incredible films I could among my favourites, but these were the first that came to mind. I'm quite eclectic in my tastes, and like to cover pretty much all eras, but I have a great fondness for screwball comedies.

     

    Honourable mentions also go to:

    Many of these movies I can quote from start to finish! You can probably tell, among my favourite actors are James Stewart, Carey Grant, John Cusack, Kim Novak, and Katherine Hepburn - many of my favourite films feature those people!

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