Sugar

I agree - I thought it was by far the best book to film adaptation I have seen since, we,, forever! There were scenes that were exactly as Pullman described them - it was like reliving my reading of it. Really well done! I can't wait to see Shadow in the North when it appears.

I hope you like it KW. I'll feel responsible if you don't! I remember really clearly the imagery from Pirates!, some of the descriptions have stayed with me very clearly. I'm sure when you read it you will know which ones!

Nuffin' if not insightful, me! In fact, I don't think there is a smilie that shows quite how much I'm laughing at that!

You must have been having withdrawal symptoms from your day off reading, Kell!

Oh, Louise - your shelves make me feel sooo very much better. Thank you!!!

So in December, I read 11 books - with an average of 3.1/5. This makes my annual look: Jan - 5 books read - 3.8/5 average Feb - 9 books read - 3.8/5 average March - 5 books read - 3.8/5 average April - 8 books read - 4/5 average May - 8 books read - 3.6/5 average June - 11 books read - 3.6/5 average July - 14 books read - 4.1/5 average Aug - 11 books read - 3.2/5 average Sept - 8 books read - 3.8/5 average Oct - 13 books read - 3.5/5 average Nov - 14 books read - 3.8/5 average Dec - 11 books read - 3.1/5 average. So July remains the most profitable month overall. My overall average was 3.7 stars out of 5 . Fairly satisfactory I think!

Well I managed 8 of the 29 - that's about a quarter, so not too bad! Maybe by NEXT Christmas?!

Thanks Angel - I was quite surprised by the totals too - but it is worth noting that I read a LOT of children's and young adult fiction for my job. I've worked out about 1 in 3 of the books I read is a CYA one - so I guess only 2-3 of those equals in length an adult novel!

I read a review of this in the Bookseller before it was published and it looked really good. A couple of months after that I got hold of the library copy. I still have it sat waiting to be read. As you say, though, Michelle - it seems to have had a sudden surge in popularity recently and I have just noticed that someone has requested it. That means I need to return it by its duedate of the 8th Jan - so I better get a move on!!!!

Currently sat on my TBR shelf is: Carried over from post in July 2006: 1) Velocity - Dean Koontz 2) At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien 3) The Mark of the Angel - Nancy Huston 4) Keeping Faith - Jodi Picoult 5) Human Traces - Sebastien Faulkes 6) Twilight - Stephanie Meyer 7) A Little Piece of Ground - Elizabeth Laird 8) Popular Music - Mikael Niemi 9) The Princess and other stories - Anthon Chekhov 10) Long Way Round - Ewan MacGregor and Charlie Boorman 11) Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Suzanna Clarke 12) Geisha of Gion - Mineko Iwasaki 13) The Rotters Club - Jonathan Coe 14) Camelia - Lesley Pearse 15) Daughter of Fortune - Isabel Allende 16) The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (also read by OH!) 17) Two Women - Martina Cole Added since July: 19) Devices and Desires - P D James 20) Little Face - Sophie Hannah 21) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt 22) Waves - Sharon Dogar 23) Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt 24) T'is - Frank McCourt 25) Daniel Isn't Talking - Marti Leimbach 26) Jango - William Nicholson 27) Ella Minnow Pea - Mark Dunn Added since this thread started (and stayed there for at least 3 weeks): 28) The Five People you meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom 29) Metro Girl - Janet Evanovich For March Holiday reading: Watermelon - Marian Keyes The Secret life of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society - Chris Stewart For June Holiday Reading: Shopaholic Abroad - Sophie Kinsella Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes The Life and Times of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell Past Secrets - Cathy Kelly (also going to take Jonathan Strange and Rotters Club from the above list) Green text means read since list added. Red text means returned to owner without reading.

In 2006, I read 117 books. The challenge for 2007 is to read 120! This is my record of what is read when. Sugar's Reads June 47. Outside the White Lines - Chris Simms May 46. A Swift Pure Cry - Siobhan Dowd ***** 45. Beast - Ally Kennan **** 44. My Swordhand is Singing - Marcus Sedgwick **** 43. The Road of the Dead - Kevin Brooks **** 42. Broken Skin - Stuart MacBride **** 41. Trust Nobody - June Hampson *** April 40. The Summoning - E E Richardson *** 39. Does Glitter Count as Camouflage - Helen Salter *** 38. Barking - Liz Evans **** 37. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J K Rowling ®(A) **** 36. The Other Side of You - Salley Vickers *** 35. Buried Alive - Jacqueline Wilson ** 34. Velocity - Dean Koontz ** 33. The Bookseller of Kabul - Arne Seierstad *** March 32. Life As We Knew It - Susan Pfeffer **** (reviewed for Writeaway) 31. The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society - Chris Stewart **** 30. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J K Rowling ® (A) **** 29. Watermelon - Marian Keyes *** 28. Ella Minnow Pea - Mark Dunn ***** 27. The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella **** 26. Only Dad - Alan Titchmarsh *** 25. Night Rise - Anthony Horowitz **** 24. Keeping Faith - Jodi Picoult *** 23. Skullduggery Pleasant - Derek Landy **** 22. Don't Mess with Mrs In-Between - Liz Evans **** February 21. Den of Thieves - Julia Golding *** 20. A Little Piece of Ground - Elizabeth Laird **** 19. Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling - D M Cornish **** 18. Jewel Princesses: Sapphire - Jahnna N Malcolm ** 17. JFK is Missing! - Liz Evans **** 16. Plum Lovin' - Janet Evanovich **** 15. The Book Thief - M Zusak ****+ January 14. Devices and Desires - P D James *** 13. This Way to Paradise - Cathy Hopkins **** 12. Five People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom ***** 11. Never say Die - Tess Gerritsen *** 10. Who Killed Marilyn Monroe? - Liz Evans **** 09. Johnny and the Dead - Terry Pratchett **** 08. Mark of the Angel - Nancy Huston ***** 07. Waves - Sharon Dogar *** 06. Metro Girl - Janet Evanovich *** 05. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J K Rowling ® (A) **** 04. Who Moved My Cheese? - Dr Spencer Johnson ***** 03. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt **** 02. At Swim-Two-Birds - Flann O'Brien *** 01. Little Face - Sophie Hannah *** Shorter Books read in detail Can I keep it? - Tony Ross, reviewed for WriteAway Melrose and Croc Beside the Sea - Emma Chichester Clark, reviewed for WriteAway Butterfly, Butterfly - Petr Horáček, reviewed for WriteAway More Pants - Giles Andreae and Nick Sharratt, reviewed for WriteAway Sleepy Little Yoga - Rebecca Whitford, reviewed for WriteAway Lullabies for Contented Little Babies - Gina Ford, reviewed for WriteAway Stomp, Chomp, Big Roars! Here come the Dinosaurs! - Kaye Umansky, reviewed for WriteAway

Actually read Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich first as I wanted something light and easy to take away with me for a couple of days. It wasn't as good as the Steph Plum books and I won't be rushing out to read Metro Girl. It seems that JE is incapable of writing characters that are different to Steph and Morelli and co.

According to Fantastic Fiction, Strouds books were published in this order: Buried Fire (1999) The Leap (2001) The Last Siege (2003) and then Bartimaeus 1. The Amulet of Samarkand (2003) 2. The Golem's Eye (2004) 3. Ptolemy's Gate (2005)

I've read it, KW. But it was in 2005, and it's another that has now been relegated to the back of my memory. I do remember though that I had read Pirates! by Rees previously and loved it, and felt this was a bit of a let down in comparison.

And congratulations on being the first 2007 list!

Finisged Hogfather last night - I will say that I began to lose the plot a bit at the end. I will have a look in the Reading Circle to see if that helps, but fear I might need the help of the TV show to un-muddle me! Starting At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien next - I borrowed it from the library months ago after I got back from Ireland and heard it mentioned lots in Dublin. Someone else has now very inconsiderately requested it, so I have to return it by the 8th of January!

I read that bit earlier this evening, and I laughed too! My other favourite bit so far is the bit about criminalism near the start - moving things around, "from A to B or, of course, to the Bottom of the C".

At the bottom of my first post in this thread, I have added a list of the Picture Books that I have looked at in depth this year, and also the titles of the "Pocket Penguins" I have read. As shorter books, I didn't feel they deserved counting as part of this years tally (if I included all the picture books I read, and non-fiction texts I skim read at work, I suspect I might crash the server!) but I thought these particular titles worthy of a mention on the list.

Hi Kell! I have real life "book friends"! I met them when I took 3 months out from my proper job to work on a project at the beginning of this year. My colleagues had started the group a few months earlier so were just getting established. Since then there have been a number of other people join who are external to the organisation. The group meets on officially a monthly basis, although there is often a 6 week gap between meetings die to "pressures of life"! We meet in a pub - for the last few months we have moved around different places as our usual haunt changed hands and changed atmosphere. I love having to read stuff that is often outside of my comfort zone - and meeting people face-to-face gives added motivation to read the books! When I was working with them, it gave us something extra to talk about over a cup of tea ("how are you getting on with it?" etc), and now I'm not working with them it means that I can meet up and get the office gossip too! We've read a range of things - from Anita Desai's The Red Tent and Lionel Shriver's We Need to talk about Kevin to Stuart: A Life Backwards by A. Masters and this months read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. Books are chosen by personal recommendation or from lists of recommended reads (the Library Reading Group sets list, and the Radio 4 Book Club Archive).

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this when it won the Carnegie Medal. It was the first books written by an Anerican to win, and many people couldn't see why it was published as a Young Adult novel, rather than an Adult one - an opinion that was reinforced by it's inclusion on a Richard and Judy Summer Reads list! I read it as a result of all this debate and found it a heartwarming, touching and well-written novel. I really clearly remember the descriptions of the Adirondacks and the forest.

It certainly is, and that's saying something as I hate doing maths - especially statistics! I'm also looking forward to seeing how it turns out next week. Recently, I have mostly been reading: Hogfather - Terry Pratchett (Current) Eldest - Christopher Paolini **** Visions of Sugar Plums - Janet Evanovich *** Double Fault - Lionel Shriver **** Darkside - Tom Becker *** It's been quite nice to read some seasonal books - although the Evanovich was a bit of a disappointment. It is very much a fantasy novel (with magical beings) and a big change of direction from the other Steph Plum books. It only took a couple of hours to read though, so I won't be crying over it! The Lionel Shriver was also very different to expected, but very good for what it was. Certainly not on the same level as Kevin but an enjoyable piece of contemporary romantic fiction none-the-less. I think Darkside will appeal to many on here - it's due for publication some time at the start of next year.

Well even though I still can't place it exactly - I'm sure it is as beautiful as all Shirley Hughes stuff! I will look out for it. Looking forward to hearing more about what you (and Beth, when you can tear her away) think!

I wonder if Deathly Hallows is a place? I have read that JKR has mentioned Harry leaves Hogwarts without finishing his course - maybe this is where he ends up?

I've not read Johnny and the Bomb, but I did really enjoy the TV series that was on BBC1 earlier this year. I'd be interested in hearing how people who read the book thought the TV series compared. The Johnny series (I think there are 3 books featuring him) is really popular - but they are very different to the Discworld books!

I'm ashamed to admit that I dont' think I know this book, Michelle! Who wrote it?