Sugar

Hello Karen! I hope you like it here. Thank you for the enthusiastic birthday message as well! I'm afraid I don't get here as often as I'd like, but I tend to post a lot when I do so I'm sure we will have a chance to chat every now and again!

I'll add myself to the support camp - definitely one of my top reads from last year. One to make you think, although I agree it's not one to "enjoy".

Been struggling to read this month. Too much going on elsewhere to have time and energy for it. Have updated first 2 posts.

I was for the longlist - it was very exciting. I've actually received an email this evening asking me if I want to take part again next year. There is an application form on the RNA website (http://www.rna-uk.org/index.php?page=rnoty_award) if anyone else is interested in reading for them for next year.

Well, I did read it about a month ago. Enjoyed it and learned a lot from (for a start where Afghanistan actually is!). I didn't like the lack of a character for Asne though. She was clearly there, and spoke with Sultan and his family, and I would have liked some anecdotes about the families reaction to her presence and outside the family reaction. Where it read like a novel, I found it quite hard to remember I was reading something based in fact. I think it might have been marketed better in the way of a "historical novel" only with cultural differences rather than time ones! It was an interesting read though - and I'm so pleased to have taken the time to finally read it. So thank you for influencing me even when I don't visit very often!

I've read Killing Floors - but haven't felt the urge to pick up any more. However, the plot of Bad Luck and Trouble looks intriguing and I'm very tempted...

SNAP! I've read most of her books that are easily available in the UK, but this was by far one of the best - it's the only one that has rivalled My Sister's Keeper in it's cleverness, and twists.

I have devoured all the Steph Plum books (including Visions of Sugar Plums and Plum Lovin' at the start of this year). The numbers books are my favourite, and Lean Mean Thirteen is coming very soon now! The between the numbers novels (Visions and Lovin') are a bit weird - with magic and fantasy aspects to them, and I wasn't keen. I also read the 2 Barney books - Metro Girl and Motor Mouth - and while I enjoyed them and would read more, Barney is a little too like Stephanie Plum, and the chap whose name escapes me is a little too like Morelli. (Even the dogs seem the same - Bob and Beans!). Grandma Mazur is the best!

I've read The Handmaid's Tale twice - once at university for fun, and then again last year for my book club. I think it's a fascinating read, and quite frightening in that it what happens could so easily happen in real life. It's not my favourite book, but is one that has made a huge impact on me.

I read this last year, and being a bit of a musician really liked the comparisons that Carole made between classical and popular music. I was pleased to see that the review I wrote helped get it on the Romantic Novellist Association Book of the Year Award shortlist!

Thanks for this review, Kell - I read it when you first posted and have since read the book as a result. Really enjoyed it - lent it to my nan as well, and she keeps saying that she will be sat in the kitchen doing a puzzle and her mind wanders to "poor old Eddie!" I think she enjoyed it too!

Apparently not - there was a survey done around World Book day about books that people own and have never read and Harry Potter was in the top 3! (Do you feel better now?)

That's right - it is about WW1, not 2 - it's set in the trenches. OnyxAngel - it is very good and I do hope you enjoy it this term. Do post some thoughts about it during reading it and after you've finished.

I've done it again, haven't I?! Updated my first 2 posts for you though. Michelle - while I haven't been visiting, I have finally read the book that I won from you when I was a new member (Velocity - Dean Koontz). I enjoyed it, but the ending was a bit disappointing, there was no real scary climax! Thanks though!

7 is a fantastic number of books - especially as you will see that 4 of mine are short children's or Young Adult novels, and a couple of others were only about 100 pages long! Plus I've had some time off work ill and all I did was read for 3 days! I'm sure I will slow down as the year goes on!

Incredibly there is no mention of R.L. Stine Inc on wikipedia, so I guess he is a real person too. But one man cannot write 62 books in 5 years (that would be over a complete book a month!)....

Finished JFK is Missing by Liz Evans last night, and I think I have found a worthy successor to Janet Evanovich. PI Grace Smith solves her unusual cases more with luck than judgement. Fast paced and humourous. Certainly great for light-relief. Now got 2 books to read for evaluation at work. They couldn't be more extreme in style and genre. I'm not sure which one I don't want to read first! Compare: *Spot the Sarcasm* Oh, joy! At least the Princess one is short......

I'm looking forward to hearing what someone else who has read it thinks. Lilywhite - don't be too put off by the size - it is remarkably quick to read once you get going.

Would that be a Potter Party? We could theme it with the letter P, and eat Pringles and Popadoms, Prawn Crackers and Pavlova! Drinking only (Dr) Pepper and Pernod.

I am going on a course in May that will have half a day devoted to Graphic Novels and Manga. If I remember (or someone prompts me!!) I will post here the recommendations that are made. Having read one or 2 Graphic Novels as part of our evaluation process at work, I am really looking forward to some pointers about how to read them!

Thank you! I could remember seeing it in a trailer, but not in a film, so I guess I will have to watch the POA film again (I've got the DVD but never actually watched it, clearly the cinema experience isn't enough!).

Hi Carole I just wondered how you feel about being on the Longlist of the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2007for Welcome to the Real World? I was on the Reading Panel this year, and was really pleased to see yours on the list as it was one that I reviewed for them. Having been involved with music all my life, I enjoyed reading a contemporary novel set in the music world, but that looked more widely than pop!

Book Title The Book Thief Author Markus Zusak Publisher Random House Synopsis "When Death tells a story, you really have to listen" It is 1939, Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is "The Gravedigger's Handbook", left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her foster father, learns to read. Soon, she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down. Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is a story about the power of words and the ability of books to feed the soul. My thoughts This book will probably appeal to those of you waxing lyrical on The Boy in the Striped Pajamas thread! First published in Australia in 2005, I am amazed that it has taken so long to reach the US and the UK. Originally written as a novel for Young Adults it has been simultaneously published with a "Young" cover and an "adult" cover. Set in Germany, I was horrified that it had never occured to me that the German population had to endure rationing, hiding in air-raid shelters all night and all the other horrors that Britain had to cope with. It really highlighted to me that propaganda is still as rife in our history lessons and British re-tellings as it was during the war itself. Liesel is a fantastic character, strong-willed and able to stand up for herself, but clearly very unsure about life and how best to approach it. Her friendship with Rudy, her next door neighbour is well imagined and touching. For me they were certainly the best thing about the book. I started reading it a couple of weeks ago, and found that it needed some perseverance for me to get into it. I found some of the use of German irritating, Zusak often uses basic phrases, and then repeats them in English later in the sentence to allow translation. Death, as a narrative voice, was appealing and humourous but wasn't strictly chronological, revealing pointers about the ending that don't necessarily materialise! It is certainly not a comfortable read. But to give it credit, I was in tears as I read the final chapters this afternoon (something that John Boyne didn't achieve with Striped Pajamas). It's also not a book that is suitable for taking on the train with you - currently only available in hardback, and weighing in at 584 pages, you need as much physical strength to read it as mental strength. But it is worth the perseverance and the muscle building, as it is a rewarding read with some very interesting points to make.

I read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas twice last year. First for interest, and secondly as preperation for a discussion day I was attending. We are now reading it for my book club, so I am going to revisit it again. While I loved it, I found Bruno's mishearings (clever as they were) very hard to take - my logic being that he would be thinking in GERMAN and thus not hear them as an English child would! It really annoyed me so far that it was spoiled a little. The thing that I did really enjoy though, was the naivety of Bruno and how well Boyne managed to convey that. At times, I wanted Bruno to wise up, but looking at him in contect of his time I'm sure he perfectly fit. Fascinating and powerful. Well recommended!

Just picked up the first shopaholic book to take on holiday with me. Despite being recommended by a few people, what swung it for me was hearing Sophie Kinsella (real name Marion Wickham) being interviewed on Open Book on Radio 4 a couple of weeks ago. She seemed like a lovely lady, really funny and likeable!