Lilywhite

I thought you might like this one mum It was recommended through an author like for like when I typed in Philippa Gregory. About 100 pages in and loving it so far. Very like Philippa but a bit more racy.

I finished Like Water For Chocolate this afternoon, it's not a particularly long book (200 pages) and it's a light read. The book is set out in monthly chapters, each referring to a recipe and the story is told through the recipes and what they represent. It's a very odd but interesting little story which I enjoyed reading. Next I will read Posie Graeme-Evans ~ 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

As I said, I've been to the library today. I managed to pick up a couple of books so they journey was more successful than I thought it would be. I managed to get Laura Wilson ~ Hello Bunny Alice, The HIghest Tide ~ Jim Lynch, Like Water For Chocolate ~ Laura Esquivel (OC) and The Innocent ~ Posie Graeme-Evans. I think I will read Like Water For Chocolate ~ Laura Esquivel my Olympic Challenge book for this week. The number one bestseller in Mexico for almost two years, and subsequently a best seller around the world, Like Water For Chocolate is a romantic, poignant tale, touched with moments of magic, graphic earthiness and bittersweet wit. A sumptuous feast of a novel, it relates the bizarre history of the all-female De La Garza family. Tita, the youngest daughter of the house, has been forbidden to marry, condemned by Mexican tradition to look after her mother until she dies. But Tita falls in love with Pedro, and in desperation he marries her sister Rosauro so that he can stay close to her. For the next 22 years, Tita and Pedro are forced to circle each other in unconsummated passion. Only a freakish chain of tragedies, bad luck and fate finally reunite them against all the odds.

I only shed a few tears..... One of the best books I've read in ages though. Top marks from me.

I finished The Five People You Meet in Heaven and thouroughly enjoyed it, even though it made me cry It's such a lovely book but it left me with many many emotions... hence the tears :oops: Don't know what I will read next as I'm off to the library later and I might pick something up there.

This is my next read, I'm quite looking forward to it now. It was a bit of a whim swap

These I read quite easily as they were short stories. Although they were a fascinating read, I don't think I get on well with Oates writing style. I found myself losing interest and kept having to go back to them. Next I will read Mitch Albom ~ The Five People You Meet in Heaven On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie, a lonely war veteran, dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his - and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.

I finally finished Gentlemen and Players this afternoon. It's taken me ages because I just couldn't get into it. It's worth the read but you only realise it after slogging through 400 of the 500 pages. Next it is Joyce Carol Oates ~ The Female of the Species Contains tales, tales in which women are confronted by the evil around them and surprised by the evil they find within themselves. This book demonstrates why the females of the species - be they six-year-old girls, seemingly devoted wives, or ageing mothers - are by nature more deadly than the males.

I finished I Choose to Live this afternoon. I knew I would have to read it in as fewer sittings as possible or I just wouldn't be able to finish it. This story is disturbing and distressing for the most, but what makes it remarkable is Sabine's ability to bring her captor to justice and move on with her life. Her stubborness not to get dragged down by it all is amazing. I recommend this book only if you can deal with such traumatic events. Next I have decided on Gentlemen and Players ~ Joanne Harris The place is St Oswald

I have The Five People You Meet in Heaven on the way, should arrive any day. Bit of an impulse swap

I have to admit, they were O's books first. I stole them when he wasn't looking

ahhh, I might do this as I am constantly getting library books out. 3-4 a week sometimes. Will get onto it right away.....

I was thinking of this but wasn't sure if you could do it or not.... don't see how it's breaking any rules but still??

I've printed some off to go in my swaps they look really nice too

Finished Ghost Girl. This is an emotional book but you do feel for everyone involved. I really admire Torey Hayden for all the work she has done with children who need it. Next shall be my OC book for Belgium I Choose To Live ~ Sabine Dardenne On 28 May 1996 twelve year old Sabine Dardenne was kidnapped by the man who turned out to be one of Belgium's most heinous paedophiles. She was his prisoner for eighty long days. 'The Dutroux Affair' shook the whole of Europe. In the middle of the immense machinery of investigation and justice there was Sabine Dardenne herself, Marc Dutroux's last victim. She was held captive for eighty days and, astonishingly, she survived. Far from sensationalising the horror, her story, dignified and restrained, is ultimately uplifting. Says Sabine Dardenne. 'I choose to live'.

Just back from the library and managed to get four books off my want to read list, which makes that list smaller. But now they are on my TBR pile, which makes that bigger Joanne Harris ~ Gentlemen & Players Thomas H Cook ~ Red Leaves Joyce Carol Oates ~ Female of the species Sabine Dardenne ~ I choose to live I managed to get around the boot fair without buying any books this week. I am trying to be good and get my TBR list down a bit. If I can halve it I will be a happy bunny.

I decided on Ghost Girl ~ Torey Hayden. Have read a couple of hers before and enjoyed them. Jadie never spoke, never laughed, never cried. She spent every waking hour locked in her own private world of shadows. But nothing in Torey Hayden's experience had prepared her for the nightmare Jadie revealed to her when finally persuaded to break her self-imposed silence. It was a story too painful, too horrific for Hayden's professional colleagues to acknowledge. But Torey Hayden could not close her ears or her heart. A little girl was trapped in a living hell of unspeakable memories. And it would take every ounce of courage, compassion, and love that one remarkable teacher possessed to rid the "Ghost Girl" of the malevolent spirits that haunted her. 100 pages in and really enjoying this one, this woman really is a modern day superwoman.

oops my mistake.... will fix it (darn Amazon, it was their synopsis) Finished Bitten today, I enjoyed it but wasn't blown away by it. Maybe my expectations were a little high but I will carry on with the series as I am interested and it's been said that some of the others are more interesting. Not sure what I will read next, I haven't chosen yet.

what a great selection Have to wait until Tue of Thur for bootfair here, gives me something to look forward to though

i did laugh out loud at that one. and when he went off on a little anecdote, being told to stop it and concentrate

I finished this one this afternoon, and I quite enjoyed it. My one problem with it is, it seems to be written like a TV programme, there's no suspense in it and it just flows from one scene to the next with small links. Still great though and a fantastic plot. Next it will be Bitten ~ Kelley Armstrong Elena Michaels is the world's only female werewolf. And she's tired of it. Tired of a life spent hiding and protecting, a life where her most important job is hunting down rogue werewolves. Tired of a world that not only accepts the worst in her

After all the raving going on here, I managed to get Bitten from the library and will start it as soon as I finish my current book. You are bad influences

so far so good

i finished the night watch today and I enjoyed it a lot. After reading tipping the velvet i decided to get a few more by Sarah Waters and this was her latest one. Set in the WWII period it was quite harrowing in places but still a thoroughly enjoyable story. Next is my OC book for the week Arnaldur Indridason ~ Tainted Blood A man is found murdered in his Reykjavik flat. There are no obvious clues apart from a cryptic note left on the body and a photograph of a young girl's grave. Detective Erlendur is forced to use all the forensic resources available to find any leads at all. Delving into the dead man's life he discovers that forty years ago he was accused of an appalling crime. Did his past come back to haunt him? Finally, Erlendur's search leads him to Iceland's Genetic Research Centre in order to find the disturbing answers to the mystery. This prizewinning international bestseller is the first in a new series of crime novels set in Iceland.

I too, have been looking for this one. It's like gold dust I still have two other Gregory books to read yet, but I might step up my searching when they are out of the way.