Liz

Hiya and welcome to the board!

Welcome!

Hello, Lizzie. Welcome to the board.

I agree with you, Kell. David Jason is nowhere near the age of Rincewind. The Wizzard is not meant to be a grandfather. Jason would be good as one of the senior wizards from the Unseen, but I don't think Rincewind is the right character for him.

I am afraid I was very disappointed with Life of Pi. I was really looking forward to reading this after all of the praise and prizes it has been given over the past few years, but on finishing the final page I realised that this was not the book for me. Part One seemed to be a bit of a slow start, but I stuck with it with the assumption that it would pick up pace and interest along the way. Sadly, or rather, annoyingly, it never really picked up at all. I did not like any of the characters, especially Pi. I did not feel any sympathy for him, nor did I even care about him in the situation he was in or.... . I found the whole story to be rather tedious, especially...... . The ending was not too bad when compared to the 300 pages I had just read. Even so, it did not turn the book into an enjoyable read, nor did those last few pages make all of the lifeless story I had spent time reading particularly worthwhile. In a way, I am glad I have read it, as I probably would have gone along with all the hype it has received and assumed it to be a terrific piece of writing, and not have known that (in my opinion) it was a load of tripe. As I said in another thread, it may be one of those book that I will appreciate and enjoy more on a second read of it, but I will not be in a hurry to do that, nor will I be rushing to read another book by Martel. I am looking forward to hearing the thoughts from those who enjoyed the book, though, as I know lots of people have.

Wow, there's plenty of challenges there! I hope you enjoy them, Kylie.

I think I'll kick off 2008 with a Discworld tale, Interesting Times. This one has got Rincewind in it, one of my favourite characters!

Welcome to the forum! This is a brilliant place to chat about books, so you have the perfect place to share your views. I hope you enjoy it here.

75 books! Nice one, Angel. What a good way to end the year.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Thanks, Kell!

We already have Mister Pip and Notes from an Exhibition waiting at home on the shelf. I'll have to find them and see about giving one of them a go.

Currently Reading: 20) MURDER ON THE LINKS - Agatha Christie Read in 2008: 01) INTERESTING TIMES - Terry Pratchett 02) CHRONICLES: VOLUME ONE - Bob Dylan 03) AND IT'S GOODNIGHT FROM HIM - Ronnie Corbett 04) THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS - Colin Dexter 05) CHRISTIAN HEROES: ERIC LIDDELL - J. & G. Benge (re-read) 06) ARCHANGEL - Robert Harris 07) THE REMAINS OF THE DAY - Kazuo Ishiguro 08) THE VIRGIN SUICIDES - Jeffrey Eugenides 09) MISERY - Stephen King 10) ONE FOR THE MONEY - Janet Evanovich 11) TWO FOR THE DOUGH - Janet Evanovich 12) MASKERADE - Terry Pratchett 13) THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS - Colin Dexter 14) THE WICKER MAN - R. Hardy & A. Shaffer 15) THE BIG OVER EASY - Jasper Fforde 16) THE FOURTH BEAR - Jasper Fforde 17) FEET OF CLAY - Terry Pratchett 18) STARTER FOR TEN - David Nicholls 19) THREE TO GET DEADLY - Janet Evanovich

Finished off To Serve Them All My Days this afternoon and very much enjoyed it. I have not read that many Chunky Reads this year, so hopefully I'll have read a few more by next Christmas.

Life of Pi - I did not get on with this book at all and it was a very disappointing read. I found the majority of it to be quite dull, especially...... . I found it very hard to even like the main character, so it made reading about him very dull. The ending only just saved it from being a complete load of rubbish, but generally speaking, I found it to be a rather tedious story. If it was any longer, I think I would have given up on it. It may be a book that I will appreciate and enjoy more on a second read of it, but I do not think I will be doing that anytime soon. To Serve Them All My Days - Reading this was such a contrast to the previos book I had read as I absolutely adored this book. I enjoy stories that are set in and around schools, and this one did not disappoint at all. It is a fairly long book (approx. 600 pages), but I found it to be well paced and did not become tired of the story (which follows a teacher over a period of 25 years). This was an excellent book to end the year with. ======================= Wow, it's the end of 2007 already. I am very pleased with the books that I have managed to read over the past 12 months. There has not really been that many disappointing books, only a couple here and there. I am now looking forward to the next 12 months of reading.

My sister has read this and she loved it. It is one of her favourite Grisham books, so she definitely recommends it.

I am very pleased with the books I have read this year (over 50 of them - far more than I thought I would read with school/college work and revision taking priority this year). I have read some excellent old and modern classics and I have also found a few new authors. All in all, it has been a brilliant year for books.

Welcome to the forum!

I don't get stressed about the amount of books I have waiting TBR, but sometimes I can get a little annoyed when there are so many books that I want to read but I know it will take me ages to get through them all.

I thought I'd choose a chunky read for Christmas, so I have gone with To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield, which has 572 pages. This should keep me quiet over Christmas.

Welcome, Kate! I hope you enjoy the forum - it's a great place!

I've got that book. The idea of it is really good, and there is plenty to look back on and chuckle along with.

Tideland was an unusual book but brilliant. It's pace is fairly slow and easy-going, which really suits the story and the characters well. I'm looking forward to watching Terry Gilliam's film of it again, now that I have read it. The Day of the Triffids - I found this to be a really enjoyable science fiction tale. I loved the descriptions of a deserted London which has slowly begun to collapse and has been left to turn to ruin. I also found Wyndham's characters and the behaviour of the sighted and blind to be an excellent example of human behaviour in a time of crisis. Next.................... Life of Pi Yann Martel

Welcome to the forum, you two! :readingtwo: Hope you enjoy it here.

Welcome, Deidre!