Janet

One of the men on our forum swears by Mike Gayle - he calls them lads-lit!

Sophie Kinsella. She also wrote the 'Shopaholic' series.

FICTION The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud - Ben Sherwood - 6/10 Small Island - Andrea Levy - 7/10 These Foolish Things - Deborah Moggach - 6/10 The First Casualty - Ben Elton 7

There seem to be a lot of Geminis here! Birthday: Age: 40 Starsign: Gemini! Single/Married/Other? Married Children? Two Where do you live? Do you work? Yes, part-time. Favourite book? Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier How did you get here? Yahoo

I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith I've read this book as it's the July choice for my

Did Seven Sunny Days start off with two of the girls planting something unmentionable on this board in the luggage of one of the girls so that it got found by customs? The title rings a bell, but I'm not sure whether I've read it or not!

Bath & North East Somerset are doing something similar.

Very profound! I try to pick something that is very different from that which I have just read.

Another book to add to my wish list!

I've recently read a few children's 'classics' such as The Railway Children (even though I've watched both versions of the films 1000s of times!), The Secret Garden and lots of Enid Blyton. I want to read 'The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas' when it comes out in paperback - it sounds like a good read.

I read it about 30 years ago and remember enjoying it a great deal. I might buy it for my daughter to read.

I agree that I really don't think it matters. I've read quite a few, and they've all been good.

Good luck! I recently re-read all the Famous Five books and the Mallory Towers and the St Claire's books. They seemed soooo dated to me, but I still enjoyed them! I hope you enjoy your book, if you track it down.

Abebooks have a few copies listed. The first is an audiobook, but the second one is a paperback. http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&an=alison+uttley&y=18&tn=a+traveller+in+time&x=49&sortby=3 Unless I'm going mad, Amazon have second hand versions from

Thanks. It's funny you should bump that thread now, as I was recently thinking about trying some audio books. I haven't ever listened to any, but I am toying with the idea of starting walking to keep fit (I'm doing the Race for Life the weekend after next, and will just about manage to walk the 5k as I'm very unfit) and I thought a good audiobook might be just the thing to keep me company. My husband listens to them in the car, as he has a long journey to and from work each day in the car.

Jane Green writes fiction which is chick-lit, through and through. Life Swap tells the story of two women. Vicky is single and lives in London. She works on a glossy magazine and appears to have it all, but deep down, she wants a husband and children. Amber lives in the USA and also appears to have the perfect life. She married well and has the requisite 2 children (one boy, one girl). Her life is one round of coffee mornings and charity events, but she has to stay one step ahead to outshine her 'friends'. She comes across as a very shallow person. The theme of the book is whether the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Vicky and Amber swap lives to find out, and the results don't turn out to be what either of them expected. I read this book in three days, which is exceptionally quick for me. This is because, in my opinion, there is no real substance to this book. It is rather predictable. I don't mean to offend anyone who likes Jane Green, but I found this to be very similar to others of hers - it's as though she's found a formula which will sell millions of books, so why try to write anything different! Also, I found I had little empathy for the problems that one of the characters faces! I think it's probably time for me to give up on Ms Green as an author. I wouldn't have read this book at the moment, because I have so many exciting possibilities on my 'to read' pile, but we're going to discuss it on another, non-book, forum that I use. Paperback ISBN 0141021721, 480 pages I'd probably give it 4/10!

It makes no odds to me. I read all year round.

I've just studied Othello as part of my GCSE English course. The only experience I'd had before was when I was a stage hand at school for A Midsummer Night's Dream (about 26 years ago!). I thought Shakespeare would be boring, but it was amazing. I loved it so much! I totally agree, Kell, about Iago - he's deliciously and wickedly good!

I'm only on page 60, but at the moment, I'm finding the writing style rather patronising. I normally really enjoy her books though, so I'll stick with it. I don't want to put you off, so I'll post a proper review when I've finished it (or comment if there is already a thread about it). I don't want to judge it badly after so few pages! We're going to discuss it on another forum I visit (a Neighbours one, not a book one!) so I've got to finish it before 30 June!

I went to see Miss Saigon at the Bristol Hippodrome on Wednesday (a pressie from my friend for my 40th birthday!). It was amazing. Such a fantastic show, with an excellent cast and the scenes and scene changes were awesome. It was very, very sad in places, but such a great story. I'd totally recommend it! Other musicals I've seen are: Mamma Mia The Phanton of the Opera Grease (twice) High Society Loads of Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas

I've weaned myself off chick lit in the last few months, but will still always read any new books by Marian Keyes, Jane Green, Sophie Kinsella and Judy Astley!

Firstly, apologies if this has been reviewed before. I did search, but couldn't see it. Secondly, apologies that this is not a very in-depth review, but I've never written one before, and although I looked at the guide posted at the top of this forum, I felt a bit out of my depth trying to follow it! Anyway, here goes: The First Casualty by Ben Elton This is Ben Elton

I read the first one about five or six years ago. The book was a really difficult, and yet compelling, read. I had to put it down in some parts, because I felt as though I really sick (I'm very squeamish!), and yet I had to finish it. I have since read the other books. I know his mother had some kind of mental illness, but as a mother myself, I have no comprehension of how Dave's mother could have been so totally and utterly cruel.

My home town is near Bath. I moved West when I got married. ~~~~~ I grew up in Higham: Higham is a small village bordering the Hoo Peninsula, in Kent, between Gravesend and Rochester. It is in two parts � Higham itself on the main road, and Lower Higham around Higham railway station, a mile to the north. The civil parish of Higham is located in Gravesham district. History The priory dedicated to St Mary was built on land granted to Mary, daughter of King Stephen. In 1148, the nuns of St Sulphice-la-Foret, Brittany, moved to Higham. Higham priory was also known as Lillechurch. (Medieval Religious Houses, p. 259). On the 6th of July 1227, King Henry III confirmed the royal grant to the abbey of St Mary and St Sulpice of Lillechurch. The original parish church is dedicated to St Mary, now in the care of the Redundant Churches. The pulpit there is one of the oldest in Kent, dating from the 14th century. Gad's Hill Shakespeare refers to Gad's Hill (or Gadshill) and its relationship with highway robbery in his Henry IV Part I. As far back as 1558 there was a ballad entitled The Robbers of Gad's Hill. The Sir John Falstaff public house stood at the top of a steep thickly wooded hill, an ideal spot for highwaymen. Gad's Hill remains the only factual detail concerning the incident of the legend of the long ride north made by Dick Turpin, a highway man of some repute. The basic facts of the story are true, but they were told by Turpin to his admirers before he went to the gallows, and he was taking credit for the deed of one of his fellow highwaymen, and gang member, a certain Captain, Richard Dudley whom was guilty of the deed. Gad's Hill Place was once the home of Charles Dickens who bought it in 1856 for �1,790. In its garden once stood a Swiss chalet in which Dickens would compose his works. The chalet is now in the gardens of Eastgate House, a Tudor building of great character in Rochester.

I'm the same, Michelle. It'll probably take me a couple of weeks to get through. I'm always amazed at people who read a book in a day.