rosegarden

I never found a way to fill all the silence. The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block Carole

Yes, it was the title that caught my eye as well ! I borrowed the audio version of this a couple of years ago from the library and remember it was a lovely easygoing book following the lives of various characters. Carole

I felt that this was one of those books that don't look too exciting (the front cover didn't appeal to me at all) and I started reading it with not very high expectations. But, I was very pleasantly surprised, especially when Mariella arrived at the Crimea, I couldn't put it down, I really started to enjoy it. I would put this as one of my all time favourite books now. And I was also fascinated with the references to Florence Nightingale, especially the fact that she only chose the older and plainer women to take with her, in the hope that the wounded soldiers wouldn't fraternise with them! Carole

CASE HISTORIES BY KATE ATKINSON Genre: Modern Fiction Pages: 416 Publisher: Transworld Publishers Synopsis: Cambridge is sweltering, during an unusually hot summer. To Jackson Brodie, former police inspector turned private investigator, the world consists of one accounting sheet - lost on the left, found on the right - and the two never seem to balance. Jackson has never felt at home in Cambridge, and has a failed marriage to prove it. Surrounded by death, intrigue and misfortune, his own life haunted by a family tragedy, he attempts to unravel three disparate case histories and begins to realise that in spite of apparent diversity, everything is connected... At the beginning of the book the first 3 chapters each describe an event - the first one is of a missing little girl, the second is of a seemingly random murder of a teenage girl and the third is of a wife murdering her husband with an axe. All the events happen in different years. In the present time, Jackson Brodie is approached by the missing girl's two elder sisters to enlist his help in finding her - the axe murderer's sister also asks Jackson to look for her niece - and the teenage girl's father contacts him to find his daughter's murder. As the story unfolds we learn of family secrets and of friendships and liaisons in the past and the present. As Jackson attempts to track people down he also realises that someone is trying to kill him...........is this all connected to his work? Who is the random woman we are introduced to in one chapter after another that seems to have no connection with anyone? Most of the questions are answered and neatly tied up at the end. It all comes together in an interesting and well-written novel. I do like the way that Kate Atkinson writes her stories......some with humour and tongue in cheek. This is the second book of hers that I've read after Behind the Scenes at the Museum and I look forward to reading more in the future. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery with a few twists and turns. 8/10

Thanks, Inver, for the great review! I saw Carol Drinkwater on a Cookery programme ages ago when she was talking about it and it sounded really good, so when I saw The Olive Farm while browsing in a charity shop last year I just had to buy it and then promptly forgot all about it - so thanks for reminding me Carole

Rosegarden88 There was already a Rosegarden on there, would you believe, so I had to change it slightly. Carole

Hi I tend to borrow a lot of my audiobooks from the library ~ download them to my laptop ~ put them into itunes ~ then onto my ipod. I hope that helps Carole

I really enjoyed PS I Love You when I read it last summer. I laughed and cried all the way through . Carole

Thanks for that ~ it sounds good. I love Agatha Christie. I have a couple of her audiobooks to listen to ........... The Secret of Chimneys and Miles of Mystery. I've just listened to A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh, which I quite enjoyed. Carole

My Wish List Irene Nemirovsky - Suite Francaise Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox Michael Faber - The Crimson Petal and the White Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible Carole

Top 3 Books 1. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd 2. Gone for Good - Harlan Coben 3. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett Worst Book The Wrong Boy - Willy Russell (I just couldn't finish it, it just annoyed me and I didn't like the path it was going down) Best New Author Janet Evanovich Carole

Yes I must admit that my mind does wander sometimes when I'm in the middle of a book but it's usually only because the story's dragging a bit - I don't find it a major problem. Most of the books I've listened to do seem to keep my attention though Carole

Most of the books I complete are Audiobooks which I've been listening to for several years now. I like to listen to them when I'm doing jobs around the house that I find boring eg. washing up, ironing, cleaning windows etc. I've also downloaded quite a few to my ipod and listen to them while out walking or on holiday when I'm lazing on a sunbed. I also read a few books as well which I'll mark with *BOOK*. BOOKS COMPLETED 2008 1. Philip Pullman - Northern Lights 7/10 2. Kate Morton - The House at Riverton 10/10 *BOOK* 3. Marian Keyes - Sushi for Beginners 6/10 4. Jodi Picoult - Perfect Match 7/10 5. Michael Collins - The Secret Life of E. Robert Pendleton 5/10 *BOOK* 6. Phillipa Pearce - Tom's Midnight Garden 8/10 7. Ngaio Marsh - A Man Lay Dead 7/10 8. Jonathan Kellerman - Gone 7/10 9. Barbara Erskine - Lady of Hay 7/10 10. Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale 6/10 *BOOK* 11. Anita Shreve - The Last Time They Met 6/10 12. Joanne Harris - Gentlemen and Players 8/10 13. Ramona Holliday - The House Down Cherry Tree Lane 6/10 14. Maureen Lipman - Thank You For Having Me 7/10 15. Doris Davidson - The House of Lyall 8/10 BOOKS THAT I'M CURRENTLY LISTENING TO Janet Evanovich - Three To Get Deadly Kevin Crossley-Holland - The Seeing Stone BOOK THAT I'M CURRENTLY READING Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible TO BE READ/LISTENED TO Lee Child - Echo Burning *BOOK* Heather Graham - The Island Diane Setterfield - The Thirteenth Tale Sue Grafton - B is for Burglar JD Robb - Naked in Death David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas EM Forster - A Room With A View Dennis Lehane - Mystic River Nicci French - Land of the Living Carole

I obtain most of my books from charity shops and the library - there's also a couple of Official Book Crossing Zones in town which I utilise as well. Carole

I can recommend http://librivox.org/ They have lots of books that are in the public domain and they are all read by volunteers. Carole

I've been very, very pleased with the books I've either read or listened to this year. It is 45 so far, and I've nearly finished Labyrinth by Kate Mosse so the total will be 46 books, which is about 10 more than last year. I've also re-discovered my 'reading' mojo - for many years I've just been listening to audio books and hadn't 'read' a book for ages, I just haven't had the patience somehow to sit down and read a book but this year that's all changed and I've actually read 4 books. So, I'm very happy and looking forward to reading more next year. Carole

The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett Gone For Good - Harlan Coben Empress Orchid - Anchee Min I also discovered Janet Evanovich this year and really enjoyed both One For The Money and Two For The Dough - I'm looking forward to reading more of Stephanie Plum's adventures in 2008 Carole

"1989, South London. Jack, an ebullient butcher, has died, and his last orders are to cast his ashes off Margate Pier. His wife of 50 years, Amy, stays home, with the excuse of a visit to their mentally-disabled daughter. Jack's three closest friends, Ray, Vic, and Lenny - along with Jack's son Vince - head for Margate. Each has memories of Jack and of friendships, family, and conflicts. It's Vince's relationship with his dad that's the most complex, and Ray's long friendship with both Jack and Amy that holds things together. The last orders - to go to Margate and strew the ashes - become an invitation to recall what's done, what's left, and what's important." This is a book about ordinary people with ordinary lives looking back and we learn about the secrets and lies that they've been harbouring over the years. It's an interesting story, but I did find some of it a bit boring in the middle. Overall, I did enjoy it. I give it 6/10. Carole

Just finished listening to this audiobook - it's the second John Grisham novel I've listened to (the first was A Time To Kill) and I thought it was very gripping - a good political thriller. Next I'm going to listen to Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. Carole

"1930, New York. In the unbearable heat of summer, Irish immigrant Will Carthy works as a riveter on the tallest skyscraper in the world, spending his days above the clouds and his nights fighting loneliness. When his half-sister, Isobel, sails out to join him, Will hurries to meet her at Ellis Island, only to find that she seems to have vanished before passing through immigration control. And so begins Will's quest, scouring the teeming tenements for a red-haired girl who now haunts his dreams. Desperate for help, Will becomes involved with the charismatic but lethal union agitator, Foxy Nolan, and the Trichardts - a wealthy, socialite couple with a disturbing agenda of their own. Little by little, though, Will realises that something deeply sinister is at play in Isobel's disappearance and that the answer might rest in an altogether wider arena of social and political ambition...The Golden Door captures brilliantly the mood of Prohibition-era New York, when the glittering towers of modern Manhattan were rising from every street corner as the American Dream came crashing down." What a little gem of a book! If you like your missing persons thrillers to be all action then I don't recommend this BUT if you like a book that's very slow to reveal the surprising answers, while giving a unique taste of New York in 1930 then this is the book for you. A wonderfully descriptive tale of Will's search for his sister, the people he meets along the way and the places he goes to. Carole

I'd never heard of Lee Child until I read The Visitor. I was absolutely gripped by the storyline from start to finish, I thought it was a brilliant book. One of the best mystery books I've ever read. I have another Lee Child on my bookshelf - Die Trying - which I'm looking forward to reading. Carole

'Ok, we didn't see one. But you could say that anything was an angel. Any girl, anyway. Nick Hornby - A Long Way Down Carole

Yes, I like that part too........I also love the bit where a different author tells you what's on his bedside table. For anyone who didn't see the programme, Mark Billingham chose - Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks by Christopher Brookmyre Trouble in Mind by John Harvey Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajeev Chandrasekaran Carole