Janet

I was going to ask that too. It seems very unfair.

I hope this link will work Although it says bagpuss_books with the underscore, in the address it comes up as a dash for some reason, which is probably why you didn't find it. (It's not very exciting!).

'Your' blurb makes it sound much more interesting than 'my' blurb does!

You should do reviews in an LJ or something! That's what I do now and I love reading back over it - even though it's only been going for 20 months! bagpuss_books if anyone wants a look - it's not that exciting but I like it!

I might look for this one too. what is it about? Synopsis 'You cannot pretend to read a book. Your eyes will give you away. So will your breathing. A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames.' It is Bougainville in 1991 - a small village on a lush tropical island in the South Pacific. Eighty-six days have passed since Matilda's last day of school as, quietly, war is encroaching from the other end of the island. When the villagers' safe, predictable lives come to a halt, Bougainville's children are surprised to find the island's only white man, a recluse, re-opening the school. Pop Eye, aka Mr Watts, explains he will introduce the children to Mr Dickens. Matilda and the others think a foreigner is coming to the island and prepare a list of much needed items. They are shocked to discover their acquaintance with Mr Dickens will be through Mr Watts' inspiring reading of "Great Expectations". But on an island at war, the power of fiction has dangerous consequences. Imagination and beliefs are challenged by guns. "Mister Pip" is an unforgettable tale of survival by story; a dazzling piece of writing that lives long in the mind after the last page is finished.

I looked at this in Waterstones on Wednesday afternoon, but luckily for me I decided it didn't sound like 'me'! Thanks for reaffirming that!

Hello - welcome to the BCF.co.uk. Curious Incident is very different to this book. It's classed as a 'young adults' book, I believe and tells the story from the perspective of Christopher - a teenage lad with Asperger's syndrome (a type of autism). I thought it was a great book, and it certainly got rave reviews. It's just very different, and not very comparable to TCIOTDITN!

Hi Sarah and welcome. I'd like to ask, how did you go about getting published? Did you find an agent or did you send your story off to publishers yourself? I would imagine that it's quite difficult getting your manuscript read by publishers without an agent to push it for you (and with the benefit of them having a foot in the door), but I don't really know much about the system so I'd be interested to know how it worked for you.

I find I tend to forget the details very quickly too - unless a book has made a major impression on me. If I reread a book I find it coming back to me though! That's why I keep a book LJ about all the books I've read (well, since I started it in January 2006) - it's nice to look back on it and read my comments. I started copying it all into a lovely notebook, but soon got bored with that! I ought to do it as soon as I finish - I have about 25 books to write up if I'm going to catch up!

Is it me, or is the print rather small? I bought a 'normal' copy (so I thought) in Smiths, but I don't know whether I'll read it - it's not that I need large print or anything like that, but when it's in a smaller than normal font I find it difficult to read!

Did you enjoy it?

I really enjoyed those! I think Kite Runner is probably slightly better but they are both good! Enjoy (if you get round to them!).

Fleshmarket by Nicola Morgan The

The 'Shopaholic' ones are best read in order. So; The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic Shopaholic Abroad Shopaholic Ties the Knot Shopaholic and Sister Shopaholic and Baby Can You Keep a Secret? and Undomestic Goddess can be read alone. Hope that helps.

Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay The ‘Blurb’ Everyone thinks they know the real Gordon Ramsay: rude, loud, pathologically driven, stubborn as hell. But this is his real story… For the first time Gordon tells the full inside story of how he became the world’s most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother’s heroin addiction, his failed first career as a footballer, his fanatical pursuit of gastronomic perfection and his TV persona - all the things that have made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today. “He’s the genuine b****cks… and this is the tale of his personal class struggle.” (Observer review) I don’t often read biographies or autobiographies but I do like Gordon Ramsay (well, certain things about him, anyway) - a friend lent me this book as she knows I like him. The writing style is very basic - it’s obviously all from Gordon himself and not ghost-written because the writing is fairly bad in places, but that is okay because you get the sense that he’s genuine. There were a few places where I had to read things through a few times to make sense of them! I’m not sure whether it’s a typo, but the phrase “Chris picked up him from the airport…” had me cringing! LOL Did he change his name from Ramsey to Ramsay, I wonder? In the book there are lots of newspaper cuttings about his time as a footballer and all of them have the surname spelt with an ‘e’. As you’d expect, there is a fair amount of colourful language in it, but it’s not over the top. I think Gordon is a great chef (not that I’ve eaten at any of his restaurants - that’s something I’d love to do though) and I love his TV programmes Kitchen Nightmares and especially The F Word and really admire his passion. I still think, despite his denials, that he is a chauvinist. When he talks about the fact he’s never changed a nappy in his life you can tell he’s proud of that. But let’s face it, it’s not a job that anyone chooses to do! I can’t help wondering whether he and Tana have a nanny (there is no mention of it) because surely she must have had a night off from the children once in a while, surely?! I guess that they can afford babysitters and you get the impression that Tanya’s not the sort of person who has to leave the baby with her husband while she pops out to buy more milk! I didn’t actually know much about Gordon’s life, other than the stuff you see in the headlines, so it was nice to read about the man behind the public personality! The paperback is 316 pages long and is published by Harper Collins. The ISBN number is 978- 0007229680. 6/10 (Read August 2007)

Someone somewhere said it's only open to the UK/Eire, unfortuanately.

Thanks guys. I will pack another book (or two!). Hopefully it'll be okay though!

Surely the though they were being kind when they gave it to you though? I read something by her (I can't even remember what it was called, but it wasn't that one) and it was awful too!

A friend bought me Jilly Cooper's Wicked for my birthday and I really don't want to read it. I read one of hers years ago - Octavia? - and thought it was rubbish, but obviously I have to read this one as a friend bought it for me, so I thought maybe holiday would be a good time to do that.

I've found it hard to settle into a book since HP and the Deathly Hallows, and I've now settled for some good old Marian Keyes easy reading chick-lit to try and get me back in the mood!

I'm pretty certain it was 'read this year'. ETA: From last year: However this is subject to change for 2007 but I would think that it would still be books read.

Aww that book was fab. I read it because someone on here (can't remember who - PP, Gyre...? ) recommended it. One of my real-life bookworms has nominated it as her choice, so I'm going to read it again as we're discussing it in September. I think it'll make for some interesting debate/discussion. I'm not sure about my favourite of the year so far. Either The Secret Life of Bees or The House at Riverton, I think.

The town I live in (albeit a pretty small one) doesn't have a bookshop at all. There is a Martin's newsagents that sells a few books and Tesco on the edge of town but there is not actual bookstore, independant or chain. I tend to buy most of my books in the Bookbarn - all paperback fiction except sci-fi is £1 at the moment - or Tesco because I work there and get staff discount. I like The Lion's Bookshop in Warminster when I visit my parents - books are 40p each or 3 for £1 and the money goes to good causes. If we had an indpendant bookstore then I would try to use it.

Oh, that's not so bad then.

Noooo. How awful - some people are so thoughtless.