Janet

Not to worry - thanks for the thought. I think there are a fair few on Amazon (or were last time I looked) and I've got so many to read that I'm not by any means desperate!

Oh, fantastic - bless you! I can feel a new challenge coming on...

Yeah, I think it would be tricky. I'd love to read one 'about' each county but it would be difficult finding books set in each one, I think. Some would be easy e.g The Darling Buds of May by H E Bates is set in Kent, Year of Wonders is about the plague village Eyam (I've already read that though) so I'm sure there would be books for each county, but it would be hard tracking some down, methinks. Still, I might consider it when I've finished my 'Decades' challenge.

There are around 45 counties in England, I think and as I only managed 40 books in 2008 it would be quite a challenge for me. Maybe one day... And make Guinness!

Yum! Someone lent me this book aaaages ago but I didn't get round to it and ended up giving it back. I think I'll wait for the film to come out on DVD and be reduced in Tesco now, rather than read the book.

That's a good idea. Actually, I'd like to do one for each county of England (either author from... or novel about...) but I've no idea how I'd go about that or if it would even be possible!

Hehe! I know what you mean though - I keep thinking I won't buy too many books and will try to make inroads into my huge 'to read' pile, but then something catches my eye... You have some great books on your 'bookshelf' list. Othello is brilliant - I hope you enjoy it.

Oh, I'm not fast - I managed 40 in 2008! I've read three so far this year which is very fast for me, but that's because I've been ill so I haven't left the house (apart from a quick trip to the Doctors) since I got in from work on Sunday morning! Good luck with getting through some of them, anyway!

Did you find this in a charity shop? I quite fancy it (after reading Entertaining Angels) but I think it's currently out of print?

Do you think his techniques will/do work? It seems too good to be true but I'd like to think it does work.

My father has had Parkinson's disease for 33 years so I really should read the Michael J Fox book.

Thanks guys. Not too challenging - I'm going to attempt to finish it in 2009.

I don't mean to nag, but Sarah's just asked if we can please stay on-topic. We don't like being killjoys and having to delete posts and we don't mind the odd joke, but if we could please stay on-topc, that would be great.

Well, The Box of Delights was charming and would have got 10/10 had it not been for its ending, which was a bit of a cop-out.

The Box of Delights by John Masefield The 'blurb' The wolves are running and the evil Abner Brown and his gang are on the prowl. They're after a magical box, but Kay has it, and he'll fight to keep it A magical tale of wolves, scrobbling and a box that can travel through time. Having read this and its prequel back-to-back, I'd say that The Box of Delights is far better than The Midnight Folk. The story was far more exciting and probably better for the human companions in it - the only let-down was Had it not been for this, it would definitely have got 10/10. Although it was written in 1935 it doesn't feel as dated as, say, Enid Blyton's books. This was made into a 6-part BBC serial in 1984 and the final episode was shown on Christmas Eve of that year. I can't understand why the BBC don't repeat these gems (this, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess etc) from the 70s and 80s. Okay, they're probably a little dated now but surely they could put them on BBC3/4 if they don't want them on terrestrial TV - it seems such a waste. This edition is also illustrated by the wonderful Quentin Blake which helps to make it more special - I think it's one I'll probably read again. The paperback is 388 pages long and is published by Egmont. The ISBN number is 978-1405232531. 9�/10

Many people, including me, thought it was brilliant so don't let it put you off! The Catcher in the Rye for me - I hated it!

I wouldn't have known but for the fact I remembered posting about a friend who has one due to a disability which means that he finds it difficult to turn the pages on a 'normal' book. ...And it's good to have a new opinion, too.

Hope you guys enjoy it. It's always sad when a favourite ends, so I hope it goes out on a high.

I loved The Book Thief - I think it was a 10/10 from me. Congrats on Book 2. ETA: I like the sound of this challenge! I might snag it after I've finished my 'decades' one.

Sorry I missed your post from November Chimera. I hope you see this reply. The adult books I've read so far just happen to be those that I have on my bookcase so it's more of a case of convenience and killing two birds with one stone than a conscious choice. As for children's books, I'm hoping to read authors that I'm not familiar with (so not going down the Famous Five book although I have those upstairs somewhere). I've just read The Midnight Folk by John Masefield which was published in the 1920s - I didn't pick it as part of this challenge but it happens to fit - and I'm currently reading the sequel which was published in the '30s, but I might not count that as I like the idea of 10 separate authors.

If I'm just reading/writing stuff on forums etc then I have music on, but if I'm reading or writing something serious then I have to have complete silence!

Did you finish A Thousand Splendid Suns? I thought it was excellent. Are you going to start a new thread for your 2009 books/reads?

Blimey, what a lot of books you have to read. Makes my huge pile seem smaller! Will you manage them all in 2009 do you think?