Lilywhite

The Graft wasn't her best work. There is sometimes swearing and violence but that comes with underground London crime novels. Her earlier works are much better, one of my favourites being The Ladykiller.

I love Martina Cole. I have read all her books so far and I'm eagerly awaiting Close which has just come out.

I have just got The Love knot by Elizabeth Chadwick. I'm looking forward to it. I'm currently reading Katharine, The Virgin Widow by Jean Plaidy and I have The Exiled by POsie Graeme Evans waiting too.

Well, I really enjoyed Off The Record, he hit the balance between personal life and football quite well and I didn't get bored of either. Next I have decided to read Jean Plaidy ~ Katherine, The Virgin Widow The young Spanish widow, Katharine of Aragon, has become the pawn between two powerful monarchies. After less than a year as the wife of the frail Prince Arthur, the question of whether the marriage was ever consummated will decide both her fate and England's. But whilst England and Spain dispute her dowry, in the wings awaits her unexpected escape from poverty: Henry, Arthur's younger, more handsome brother - the future King of England. He alone has the power to restore her position, but at what sacrifice?

I read Sabriel but decided I didn't want to read the others. I didn't care enough, I thought his book quite bland in comparison with other childrens books around.

I really enjoyed Pirates!, a great story of swash and buckle Now I'm going to read Off The Record: My Autobiography ~ Michael Owen Michael Owen has a maturity beyond his years. At 24, Liverpool Football Club's youngest-ever goalscorer in the Premiership is already one of the most experienced players in the England squad, with two World Cups and two European Championships under his belt, and is recognised as one of the top marksmen in world football. To date, despite his well-documented accolades and achievements, he has rarely opened up to his fans and his legions of admirers around the world. Until now. Off The Record is his honest and forthright story of life both on and off the pitch - the bumps and bruises of his formative years; his Liverpool career including former Kop hero Robbie Fowler and new club captain Stephen Gerrard; England's David Beckham and Sven-Goran Eriksson; and the precocious talents of Wayne Rooney; his partner Louise Bonsall and how fatherhood has changed him; and his hopes and ambitions for a future career outside football. On the darker side, he talks about the gambling, alcohol and other temptations influencing the lives of high-earning youngsters in the game and how some go over the edge. For the first time, he reflects on his own complex world and the effect of the resulting media intrusion into his private life. An incident-packed 2003/04 season saw doubts surround his manager Gerard Houllier, Owen's own injury frustrations, the threatened strike by the England squad in support of Rio Ferdinand, and, finally, England's quest for glory in the European Championships Finals. Michael Owen's Off The Record will bring a refreshing insight into the highs and lows of a career in the highest echelons of football.

I picked this one up off my TBR soon pile last night and I am enjoying it so far. Celia Rees ~ Pirates! It is the dawn of the 18th century, when girls stay home and sew while men sail the high seas finding adventure, danger, and gold. But two unusually adventurous girls (a rich merchant's daughter, Nancy Kington, and her former plantation slave, Minerva Sharpe) take to the high seas from Jamaica on a ship the crew renames Deliverance. Not just any trading ship, the Deliverance flies black flags from its mast, proclaiming to all that the newly named, hijacked ship is a pirate vessel, striking fear into the hearts of those she approaches. Or so they hope. For Nancy, the Deliverance is her escape from an arranged betrothal to a controlling and devilish man. For Minerva, it is an escape from slavery, as well as from the fearsome overseer on Nancy's family plantation. But in the end, the money, the adventure, the companionship, and the chance to see the world not as women, but as bold and daring pirates, is an opportunity neither can deny. A powerful, thrilling, and ultimately inspiring journey of two women who break the bonds of gender, race, and position to find their own way to glory.

I finished The Wise Woman this afternoon, I wasn't that impressed with it TBH. I cared very little what Alys did or what happened to her, although the herbs and witchcraft aspect was interesting. I just randomly picked up Albert Camus ~ The Outsider off the shelf, it's not very long and I should have it finished soon. In his classic existentialist novel, Camus explores the predicament of the individual who is prepared to face the indifference of the universe courageously and alone. Meursault leads an apparently unremarkable bachelor life in Algiers until he commits an act of violence. His response to the incident challenges the fundamental values of society, a set of rules so binding that any person breaking them is condemned as an alien, an outsider. For Meursault it is an insult to his reason and a betrayal of his hopes; for Camus it is the absurdity of life

I've nearly finished The Wise Woman now, and although I managed to read it all the way through, I have to say I didn't really like it. Especially not after The Queens Fool and The Virgins Lover. I just couldn't empathise with the main character Alys and I think that detracts from the enjoyment of the book.

That's lovely

ok then, here goes. I am the eldest of 3 (one brother, one sister) I am currently studying with the OU working towards a degree (Social Sciences) I love most animals (except birds and spiders) I love crafts and 'making stuff' (cooking, knitting, cross stitch) I am extremely proud of my living room as I wallpapered it myself

I have four to post this morning.... It's probably my fault they put the postage prices up, all those overworked postmen

Hello, my name is Kat and I'm a swap-a-holic

At the minute they are teetering near the top of my To Be Read pile. I will get round to them soon

I just picked up Michael Owens bio from the library , as my random choice and I also got Michael J Fox bio from the market (10p :shock:) I will be starting these soon.

I finished Trust Nobody tonight, I quite enjoyed this book. Another author billed to be the next Martina Cole and although I liked it, she isn't a patch on Cole. Will probably read more by this author if she writes them. The story itself was gritty for gritty's sake, all hard lives and hard times but the underlying plot of bonding women is quite good. I am going to read Philippa Gregory ~ The Wise Woman next as it has been looking at me for a while now. Alys joins the nunnery to escape hardship and poverty but finds herself thrown back into the outside world when Henry VIII's wreckers destroy her sanctuary. She uses witchcraft to win a lover but since heresy against the new church means the stake, and witchcraft the rope, Alys's danger is mortal.

And a bargain at 10p, it's almost new Started reading June Hampson ~ Trust Nobody It is 1962 and Daisy Lane, whose husband Kenny is in jail for robbery, runs and lives over the family's cafe in Gosport with Kenny's older brother Eddie. Daisy looks out for pretty 16-year-old Suze, also sharing the house is Daisy's friend Vera, a prostitute who boards with her cat Kibbles, a male she can always rely on - not that Vera is anyone's fool. The three women share a strong, mutually protective bond. The Lane brothers were both abused by their father, but Eddie took the brunt of the beatings. He has grown into a handsome, resourceful villain with a streak of viciousness that leads him to commit acts of terrifying violence to get his way. Daisy prefers not to know the details of Eddie's 'business' dealings. But hardman Eddie has an Achilles heel - Daisy. He loves his brother Kenny but he worships his brother's wife. She resists him. Then Eddie overreaches and pulls a racket too far, venturing on the patch of a villain who is even harder and more territorial than he is ... Lovereading view... The publisher has created a new category with the publication of this novel, that of

Back from the library, it went better than I thought but only because I got books that weren't on my list (naughty). I managed to get, June Hampson ~ Trust Nobody, Michael Owen ~ Off The Record, Jean Plaidy ~ Katharine, The Virgin Widow and Celia Rees ~ Pirates!. I was a very very good girl on the car boot, as I was looking at books the signs said 50p each and then the man made new signs saying 10p each. It took me all my might to only buy one book, Michael J Fox ~ Lucky Man. Then when I got home, I had two books waiting in the mat Albert Camus ~ The Outsider (OC) and Valerie Martin ~ Mary Reilly :cry:

The Highest Tide wasn't the best book I've read all year, it just didn't hold my interest. That could still have a lot to do with Hello Bunny Alice though, as I found I didn't really want to read anything new after that one Anyway, I'm off to the library in a bit, I'm not expecting much as I've already been online and seen that most of the books I want are out or on the otherside of the county

Put down Laura Wilson this afternoon, don't rate it at all. I was half way through and nothing of any interest had happened at all. Just couldn't be bothered turning another page, epsecially when there were more interesting books waiting to be read. Next book is Jim Lynch ~ The Highest Tide One unforgettable night, thirteen-year-old Miles goes to the flats near his home in search of shellfish, only to discover something startling and remarkable: a giant squid. Instantly he becomes a local celebrity and is pursued by TV crews urging him to explain the phenomenon. His psychic friend Florence predicts that even more astonishing discoveries are to come, indicators of the highest tide in fifty years. Yet Miles worries more about matters closer to home: will his passion for his ex-babysitter Angie go unrequited? Will his arguing parents divorce? Is everything, even the bay, shifting from him?

Finished the Innocent today. A great book and a fantastic build up to the next book in the trilogy. Really enjoyed it. Next I shall read Laura Wilson ~ Hello Bunny Alice In 1967 Bunny Girl Alice Jones met Lenny Maxted - one half of the brilliant comic duo, Maxted and Flowers - and fell deeply in love with him. But, like so many great comics, Lenny had a dark side. Their love affair ended when Alice found his body hanging from a beam in a Wiltshire cottage. Seven years after his death, in the long hot summer of 1976, Alice is leading a quiet, almost reclusive life in an Oxfordshire farmhouse when, out of the blue, Lenny's partner, Jack Flowers, turns up on her doorstep. Alice has not seen him since Lenny's funeral, but her surprise and pleasure turn into an all too familiar sense of unease when she discovers that he is distressed and drinking heavily. At the same time, a car containing human remains is fished out of a Wiltshire lake...

I wouldn't have looked twice at historical fiction of it hadn't been for the lovely people here telling me how great Philippa Gregory was. I had to give it a go then and I loved all her books that I picked up. Posie Graeme-Evans was just an extension of my search for more books of the same ilk and I'm happy to say they really are. As for the author, I think she's better known in Australia but not necessarily for books, she is a TV Producer and a Lyricist too as far as I have read

I found another Torey Hayden book in The Heart Foundation today, it only cost me

Has anybody else read any of her books?? I'm currently reading The Innocent, the first in a trilogy of hers. I think she's fairly new on the scene as she only has a couple of books around, but if you enjoy Philippa Gregory's historical fiction then you will enjoy these books. The Innocent The story begins in 1450, when civil unrest sweeps England and the struggle for the crown is at its peak. Deep in a western forest, a baby is born. Powerful forces plot to kill both mother and child, but somehow the newborn girl survives. Her name is Anne. Fifteen years later, England has a charismatic young king, Edward IV, and the country has begun to wake from the nightmare of the War of the Roses. When Anne is brought to London to be a servant in the household of a wealthy merchant, her unusual beauty soon provokes jealousy, lust and intrigue. But Anne has one special quality that saves her: her knowledge of herbs and healing. News of her remarkable gift spreads and she is brought to save the life of Edward

Guilty over here too.... it's an art form not letting your tears get on the page whilst reading