Janet

It

Not bad! It's only a fleeting reference to it, and I only remembered it because it made me think of my parents Bougainvillea plant!

I'm studying Philip Pullman's Northern Lights for A level English. In it, a person has a daemon - an animal that is a separate part of them but that can't move far away from their person - it's like a human's soul. When young, a person's daemon can change form, but once a child passes puberty, the form settles into one animal and then can't change. Whilst reading my book, I found that a character called "Ma Costa"'s daemon was a hawk on page 56, but by page 105 it's a wolf. I was going to mention this in my coursework essay but my tutor questioned it and when we checked her book, the daemon is a hawk on both those pages. I'm guessing it was an oversight on Mr Pullman's part which was amended in later additions (which is a shame, because I can't refer to it in my essay now!). Has anyone else found any mistakes in books - either rectified like this one, or not?

Oooh, I love Joanne Harris' books. Different strokes for different folks, and all that. Two chances for me too.

It's mentioned on page 12.

Great review, Michelle. *Adds to Amazon Wishlist*

Just address it to New Books Magazine.

I subscribe, and have done for a couple of years now. I love it - it's great. They also offer cheap books with every edition. I recently bought The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies for just the price of p&p - £2.95 delivered, iirc.

Well, I'm not in the USA so obviously I wasn't looking on Amazon.com.

I can't say I've heard of it - sorry. It seems to be out of print now - or at least, I can't find it on Amazon.

It's lovely if you roast it.

Who wrote Dark Water? Is it the short story collection by Koji Suzuki?

From that list I've read - or have an interest in reading... Early years 3. The Tiger Who Came To Tea by Judith Kerr I read this to my children 5. The Tale of Samuel Whiskers by Beatrix Potter Read this one to my niece (she used to call her Bixtree Potter awww) - mine never really liked BP. 7. Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs Someone bought me this when I was about 19! 9. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson I got this for £1 on ‘World Book Day’ when my son was little 10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle A classic! 11. The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss I read these as a child. My children didn’t like these though. (The recentish film version is freaky - urgh!). 12. Charlotte's Web by EB White I love this book - have read it to my children 13. The Story of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff When Babar sees his mother shot he reacts as any modern child might: a few tears, then off on a shopping spree. Nice green suit, though. Had to leave the Daily Telegraph’s comment in as it made me laugh. I read this as a child but I don’t remember it affecting me either - I guess I’m a modern child at heart too! 14. Winnie-the-Pooh by AA Milne, illustrated by EH Shepard Aww - I still have my childhood copy Middle Years 16. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild I bought this a few weeks ago after seeing the BBC adaptation at Christmas. I didn’t read it as a child - more of an Enid Blyton girl! 18. Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling Have it in the loft but never read it 19. The Borrowers by Mary Norton I read it as a child - can’t remember an awful lot about it though. 21. The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton Another classic 31. The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear Who doesn’t know this story?! 34. Peter Pan by JM Barrie I read this as a child too. I recently bought it to reread, and its new sequel, Peter Pan in Scarlet 36. The Water Babies by Charles Kinglsey I thought it was one of those ‘should read’ books - until I read Kell’s review LOL! 37. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett Aww love it! 38. I'm The King of the Castle by Susan Hill On my Amazon ‘Wishlist’ 41. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Another childhood read 43. The Firework-maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman On my Amazon ‘Wishlist’ 44. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce I love this one. Must reread it one day... 46. The Silver Sword by Ian Serrallier I read this about two years ago and enjoyed it. 47. Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease Love the sound of this one *Adds to Amazon Wishlist* 50. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling Loved all these! 51. The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set by CS Lewis Ditto - have reread TL, TW&TW and The Horse and His Boy recently and aim to read the rest of the set sometime soonish! 52. His Dark Materials Box Set by Philip Pullman I’m currently studying the first one for my A level English Lit coursework - I will read the final two after June. 56. The Railway Children by E Nesbit I adore this book. The two film versions are probably my favourite ‘children’s film’ - the second (where Jenny Agutter plays the mother rather than Bobbie) is truer to the book - but the first film is the one I remember most fondly! 58. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell Read as a child Early teens 63. Call of the Wild by Jack London This one’s in the loft unread too! 64. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll Love these books - must reread soon 66. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith Ugh - read this one in 2006 and hated it! 68. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Read 2007 and loved it! 69. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens On my Amazon Wishlist (am currently reading Mister Pip which is what prompted me to add it) 73. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Read January 2008 - about time too! 76. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien I enjoyed it but it didn’t inspire me to go on to the LoTR books! 77. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo On my ‘to read’ pile 84. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Read this last year but found it rather dull. 87. Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee I really ought to read this 92. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain I’ve just read Huck Finn for English Lit - I might try this when my A Level is over. 94. Holes by Louis Sachar Mater B loved this - I ought to read it 96. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell Read this in 2006 - utterly charming 97. Coraline by Neil Gaiman *Adds to Amazon Wishlist* 98. Carrie's War by Nina Bawden Aww loved this one as a child

Continued...

Continued...

This list was published in The Daily Telegraph on 19th January but I forgot all about it! Better late than never. Obviously this is only their view, but I like lists!

Well said everyone. Kylie - I couldn't have put my points any better than you have. I don't think reading will ever die out. There will always be people who love books. Seldom do films live up to expectations.

There is no release date for the DVD as yet, I believe. If you are an Amazon user, they'll email you when the date is announced if you click on 'notify me...'.

I ought to chop off the rating things really - I copy/paste my reviews from my Live Journal - I tend to base them on other books I've read. So for example, I gave The Kite Runner a 10/10. I also gave Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris a 10/10 because I couldn't put either book down. I did enjoy this, but I found it rather a plodding read because the diary was repetative and I'm reading it as an adult whereas Anne was a teenager (and from a different generation to boot). I wondered whether perhaps I should score out of 5 rather than 10 to keep things a bit tighter and anyway, I feel that ratings are rather subjective. I just felt that for me, I wouldn't say "oh wow - you must read this book" and yet I was glad I had. Does that make any sort of sense?!

Anyone else looking forward to this? I am, although I'm not sure how it will live up to Life on Mars. I'm going into it with an open mind. Pity it's on Thursday. I was hoping they'd stick with the Monday slot that LoM was in - I have college on a Thursday so I'll have to record it and be very careful to avoid spoilers. Philip Glenister - mmmmm!

I read The Rector's Wife many years ago and I think I enjoyed it! (My memory is not what it was!). My mother-in-law loves her books though so she will be happy to know a new one is on the horizon.

Resist, resist, resist!

I finished Water for Elephants yesterday. Another brilliant book. 9½/10. 2008 is shaping up to be an excellent year book-wise.

I thought this had been reviewed already but I've searched and I can't see one. This is only a short review, I'm afraid! Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen The ‘Blurb’ When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters and misfits – the Benzini brothers Most Spectacular show on Earth – a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student who almost earned his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. Jacob Jankowski lives in a nursing home and is 90. Or is he 93? He can’t quite remember. However, he can remember a time in the 1930s where he ran away and joined the circus and all the adventure that followed as though it was yesterday. Narrated by Jacob in flashback form, this book is unlike anything I’ve read before but I really enjoyed it. I was captivated by the characters from the start and the story is enthralling. 2008 is shaping up to be an excellent year book-wise! The paperback is 331 pages long and is published by Hodder. The ISBN number is 978-0340935460. 9/10 (Read January 2008)