Janet

Danny Wallace has a new book coming out in May - and this time it's fiction! From Danny's site... Having recently read Awkward Situations for Men, I looked on his site just a few weeks ago to see if he had anything else in the pipeline but there hadn't been an update for some time. Then yesterday information about this was posted on Facebook. I'm really looking forward to seeing what it's like - I've loved all of Danny's books that I've read so far! It will be interesting to see how it compares. Incidentally, Danny lived in Bath when he was a teenager - and Bath has a road called Charlotte Street - so no surprises for guessing where the title came from!

Hurrah!

I think the nicest library I've ever seen is in Swansea - it's a gorgeous library inside, and it has fabulous views of the Bristol Channel! These pics don't do it justice, but here's the view... Cardiff's library is lovely too... And from the outside it's hard to beat Stratford-upon-Avon's... And Bristol Central library is lovely too...

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl The ‘blurb’ Billy's biggest wish is to turn a weird old wooden house into a wonderful sweet shop. But then he finds a giraffe, a pelly and a monkey living inside – they're the Ladderless Window Cleaners! Who need ladders when you've got a giraffe? They become best friends and when they meet the richest man in all England, there's a chance Billy's scrumptious-galumptious dream just might come true... It’s difficult to review the shorter Dahl books without giving anything away (I’ve yet to read one of his longer books) as the blurb pretty much covers it. I enjoyed the story in this one, although for me it’s not as good as Esio Trot or George’s Marvellous Medicine. I haven’t read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet, but some of the sweets mentioned in the film version are also mentioned in this book and (assuming they are actually in the book and not made up by Hollywood!) it’s nice to see that bit of continuity!

Boy was great - I'm looking forward to reading Going Solo at some stage. Esio Trot is sweet I think! Perhaps you could get it from the library rather than buying it though - it's not very long. Mind you, if you like charity shops the chances are you'll find it easy enough that way.

The old thread was rather long so I thought I'd start a new one. I'm getting on really well with Down Under. I'm about two-thirds of the way through it and I'm loving it. I'd go as far as to say I think it will be my favourite 'Bryson' so far! My Mum has given me her copy of Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson - I don't know anything about it (apart from I think lots of people on here have read it and liked it) but I've given it to hubby to read first as I have so many books to catch up on!

I'm certain it'll be in charity shops in its 100s eventually. I'd like to read it but I hate hardbacks so it's either library or Kindle for me - I certainly won't pay £20 for it though - I don't understand why anyone would pay that much for one book!

I gave that away unread last year - I hope I won't regret it.

I'm loving it! I've yet to read one of his I haven't enjoyed but this one is especially interesting. I might have to have a bath before I go to bed just to read some more!

*Runs in* *Chants* Kylie's changed colour, Kylie's changed colour! *skips out*

She was fab in Jane Eyre! (Sorry - you can't use Kiera as an excuse! )

I tried the film once when it was on C4 but I turned over after half an hour. I do like the sound of the book though so maybe I'll try it one day and then try the fllm again.

I love Bill Bryson! I'm currently reading his Down Under - it's my 'read in the bath book'! I'm also reading Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch on my Kindle.

You're more than welcome - I'm glad it arrived safely! I'm at my Mum's at the moment so I will reply to your PM later.

Esio Trot by Roald Dahl The ‘blurb’ Mr. Hoppy is in love with Mrs. Silver, but her heart belongs to Alfie, her pet tortoise. Mr. Hoppy is too shy to approach Mrs. Silver, until one day he comes up with a brilliant idea to win her heart. If Mr. Hoppy's plan works, Mrs. Silver will certainly fall in love with him. But it's going to take one hundred and forty tortoises, an ancient spell, and a little bit of magic. I’m not going to add anything about the storyline in my review because I don’t want to spoil what is a really cute love story. I have read lots of criticism about this book and the message it “gives out to younger readers”, but Dahl’s children’s books do have their dark elements which is what makes them so appealing, and personally I like to credit young people with common sense and I truly believe that reading this book won’t damage them or make them think that this is the way adults live in real life! It is, after all, just a story, and a cracking one at that, and as far as I can make out, no real tortoises were harmed as a result of Dahl writing it!

You singled out my comment about loathing the book and then said that people should "try not to take them too seriously". I was simply defending my right to have emotions - I don't think that calls for you to stop posting! Still, that's your prerogative. We don't generally delete members accounts. If you feel you have to go over a trifle like this then so be it - but I really think you are overreacting!

Book #17 - finished 4 March Awkward Situations for Men by Danny Wallace The ‘blurb’ How do you walk behind a woman you don’t know at night? What do you do if you’ve said goodbye, but then both walk off in the same direction? Or if you’re caught cheating on your hairdresser? Or when you spot someone purposely not taking your call? Well, if you’re Danny Wallace, you feel all awkward. Taken from his multi-award-nominated Shortlist column, this is a book that tracks a year in a life of one man’s awkwardness… I wasn’t entirely sure whether I’d ‘get’ this book – or enjoy it – seeing as I’m not, and never have been a man, but despite not being the target audience I loved it! It’s a series of short commentaries some of which appeared in a magazine called ShortList (never heard of it!) before being published in this book. Written in his usual colloquial style they’re snippets of Danny’s life and the situations he (and doubtless countless other men) inadvertently seems to get himself in at every possible opportunity! Amongst other things I now am an expert in urinal etiquette (not sure this is a skill I’ll ever need!) and I understand that if a man is following me down a road at night he will worry that I think he’s about to attack me, which will make him try to act like he’s not about to attack me, inadvertently making himself appear like he’s about to attack at any second! There is a sequel which is imaginatively entitled More Awkward Situations for Men, which I shall definitely look out for.

Good grief - how patronising! I'd sooner read a book and find it inspired me to some sort of emotion than read them and feel ambivalent towards them!

I found it and have merged. I disliked it too - it's one of my most loathed books! Clearly a lot of people see something in it that I don't, but I hated the protagonist - what a phoney!

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl The ‘blurb’ Boggis and Bunce and Bean One fat, one short, one lean. These horrible crooks So different in looks Were none the less equally mean. Boggis, Bunce and Bean are the nastiest three farmers you could ever meet. They hate Mr Fox and plan to shoot, starve or dig him out of his hole. But Mr Fox is much cleverer than they are and he has a cunning plan of his own. Mr Fox lives with his wife and children on the hillside near to three incompetent farmers – Boggis, Bunce and Bean. He’s a cunning hunter (well, he is a fox!) who provides amply for his family, much to the irritation of the farmers, from whose farms he gets his supplies. Boggis, Bunce and Bean have had enough, and they vow to starve the fox family out of their den. But Mr Fox has a plan – and together with the other inhabitants of the hill he plans a feast fit for kings. Will Fox’s plan prevail or will the farmers achieve their aim? I enjoyed this Dahl book very much, and as ever I adore the Quentin Blake illustrations. I’ve given this 4/5 but I may have to re-jig my scores when I’ve finished reading all the books!

It might appeal to you more than it did to me. I'm glad I read it, even if it wasn't quite as good as I'd expected it to be. It's definitely inspired me to read some more of Wells' sci-fi stuff! No probs. I have #2 on my Kindle and I've reserved #3 from the library!

It sounds interesting. I don't know whether you've every had that thing happen to you where you see something once and think "I haven't noticed that before" and then all of a sudden that thing is everywhere? It happens to me with all sorts of things, including cars (for example, when my Mum and Dad got their Kia Picanto I'd never even heard of the car, but now I see them all over the place) - well, since I read it I see them all over the place - I knew they were popular, but I didn't realise how popular - and there are always loads in charity shops!! I love War of the Worlds from start to finish! I guess it helps knowing the musical inside out (I love it!) even if there are some differences from the book. I'm sure you'll love that one. I just chucked at the whole of your post. I remember the Edwina Currie book too - not that I've ever read it. I never saw John Major in the same light after that (although I always seem him as the grey puppet from Spitting Image!).

Claire, Alex and Kay - I will reply later but I'm off to work ridiculously early! # 15 The Cruise of the Snark by Jack London The ‘blurb’ In April 1907 Jack London set out to sail around the world in the 45-foot ship The Snark, accompanied by his wife and a small crew. Although suffering from seasickness and tropical disease, London wrote prolifically, including a series of entertaining sketches of the voyage itself. These were later collected as The Cruise of the Snark, a remarkable record of adventure and love among the islands of the South Pacific. London and his wife build a yacht called ‘The Snark’ (after the Lewis Carroll poem) and after some delays they set off with a small crew to sail across the south Pacific, setting out from San Francisco in April 1907. This account charts their voyage and the adventures and mishaps they had along the way. I read this as part of my ‘decades’ challenge, but I’m afraid for me it really didn’t live up to expectations. I found the bit about the leper colony in Molokai to be very interesting, but I also found large parts of it rather dull and it took me a while to read as it was one of those books that became a chore – I’m certain I would have given up if it wasn’t for the challenge. It did improve towards the end, but overall it wasn’t the best reading experience for me – but if I haven’t put you off it is free to download online in various formats!

Book #12 Was Oscar and the Lady in Pink by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt - I gave it 3/5 when I read it, but I can't remember *anything* about it now - oh dear! Book #13 isn't anything to be proud of either!! Wedding at King’s Convenience by Maureen Child - Warning, Mills & Boon read as part of a challenge! The ‘blurb’ In one unforgettable night, Jefferson King, movie mogul, had made Maura Donohue pregnant. Worse, he’d been avoiding her phone calls. Naturally he’d give the expectant mother a wedding worthy of a King’s bride. But Maura wouldn’t marry without love… Mills and Boon books. They’re the type of book that nobody (well few people) admit to buying, aren’t they?! And yet they sell in their 1000s! I’ve only read one M&B book in my life – and that was only because my son bought it for me from the school fete when he was about 8 because “you like reading, Mummy” – awww! However, we got chatting on an online forum I use, and what started out as a joke turned into “the Mills & Boon challenge” – we would each pick a different M&B book to read and then report back - and this book was the result! This was free to download onto the Kindle from Amazon – those of us who were quick enough snapped up a freebie, but others had to pay as much as, oooh, £2.12 for their books as they didn’t get in quickly enough! Some poor souls had to get them out of the library, and therefore will have the rest of their lives (or at least, as long as their library keep records for) blighted with this one withdrawal! Needless to say I deleted my browsing history from Amazon and told them not to use this title for recommendations! So, where to begin? Well, the story was, as might be expected, predictable. Here are some choice similes for you… ”Her blue eyes glittered as she turned them up to him and Jefferson’s body stirred like a hungry dog on a short leash.” And ”The overhead lights were harsh and bright and cast unforgiving shadows over his face until he looked like some pirate with danger on his mind.” And now for some examples of the classy writing! ”I thought perhaps we might end up back here tonight and I wanted to see the look on your face when I took off the sweater.” “And was it worth it?” he managed to ask. “Aye, it was.” She reached up, hooked one hand behind his head and threaded her fingers through his hair. “I’ve been wanting you, Jefferson.” Maybe a teensy bit risqué – although I don’t think anyone would be offended by it, but I’ll put it under a spoiler just in case. and "His mouth covered hers as she sighed into him, parting her lips eagerly, hungrily. She matched his need and as their tongues twisted and danced together, the flames they built erupted into an inferno.” and ”Oh, you’ve a smooth tongue on you, Jefferson King.” And her knees wobbled even more as she thought of the many uses that smooth tongue of his could be put to.” Thank goodness it was a freebie, eh?!