TammyRich

Yeah - I was surprised to find it on. I knew it was due but only came across it last night when I was flicking through the Freeview channel list on my telly where it said what was on now and what was on next and there it was on ITV2. I thought it was going to be on a terrestial channel like Channel 5! I should think they will repeat it. Everything on the digital channels seems to get repeated loads especially on the minor channels.

Did anyone see this last night? It was on ITV2 and was a remake of the original series. Was a bit unsure whether I was going to appreciate it or not but was pleased to say that it wasn't a let down. Michelle Ryan - British actress was fine playing an American (good on her considering the number of US actresses playing key British roles in the movies) so much so I forgot she used to be in Eastenders (there I've said it). Looking forward to the next episode.

The authors Margaret Forster and Penelope Lively write these sort of books set in current times. I usually enjoy their novels. 'The Memory Box' is one of the latest by one of them but I can't bring any other titles to mind right at this moment in time -it's late! I've also been reading The Cazalet Chronicles which is about a family starting before the 2nd World War and then continuing over at least 4 books. They are by Elizabeth Jane Howard and she writes really well with lots of characters whose stories she interweaves without overwhelming you.

I remember a book I had pre-school in the Dr Seuss range called "Bears in the Night" which I adored. I also remember being taken to a toy shop and saying I could have anything up to a certain value and choosing a book published by Disney full of pictures of a particular scene on each page e.g a farm or a school room and everything in the scene labelled - desk, chair, teacher etc. I loved that book and it was partly how I learnt to read.

Just seen the film which I found rather disturbing but also quite compelling and there were aspects I wanted to know more about that the film didn't go into that I would hope would come into the book. Therefore having read this thread I am going to put it onto my TBR list!

Yeah - Painted House was the first Grisham I ever read. It was only on enjoying that that I got to read his legal thrillers. Don't think I would have tried them otherwise.

This year I am not going to persevere with anything I am finding tedious to read. I am just going to make sure I read only things I enjoy reading! I tried to read too many books this/last year (it is rapildy approaching midnight as I type) that I wasted time on and didn't enjoy and should have given up reading much earlier than I did. There is so much good stuff to read in the world and not enough time to read it!

In John Grisham's 19th book the story is centred around Ron Williamson a man who is convicted of a crime he hasn't committed and spends 11 years in prison for, most of that time on Death Row. A young woman was found murdered and raped but the last person to see her after she left a bar never gave hair specimens or fingerprints but when interviewed later pointed the finger at Ron who was mentally unstable and was known to visit the bar in question. It was later found out that he supplied drugs to the police. The police were convinced 2 people had committed the crime so accused Ron's friend Dennis Fritz too. Neither were at the bar that night. Grisham shows how small town American cops once convinced they had the right people built up a case around them with the minimum of evidence such as hair analysis, jail house snitches, dream confessions and by exhuming the body of the deceased just to check the victim's palm print. He also intertwines the stories of other Death Row prisoners wrongly convicted whom Ron mixes with as he endures years of mental torture. Due to refusal by the authorities to allow him to be assessed his mental conditions go untreated and he develops extreme paranoia and schizophrenia. Prisoners on Death Row who are judged to be incompetant cannot be executed! Grisham writes clearly and compellingly. This is the quickest book I have read this year since Harry Potter. I became engrossed in Ron's story and also his family. He was at home with his mother Juanita on the night of the murder but she died just before the trial. She went to the police station to make a recording of her statement so it could be played at a trial but it was never produced by the police. I highly recommend it to all Grisham fans and anyone who wants to know why we shouldn't support the death penalty.

I'm a bit of a Sci-fi fan although not as widely read as some of the above. I like the Star Wars novels but I think you have to be a fan of the films to appreciate the books. Another vote for John Steinbeck from me - Day of the Triffids is my fave from him. And I suggest Kim Stanley Robinson as another Sci-fi author to try - Red Mars is a good book and I keep meaning to read it's sequels - Blue Mars and Green Mars.

I've read this book - and it took me a month!!! But it was worth it. I think Ms Clarke was really generous to put so much into one book when she could have had the story as a series of books - there is so much in there. It is touching and moving and stirring and spooky and clever and inspired writing all in one. Very original and with humour and mystery as well. So much packed in. Persevere, persevere!

I bought an adult cover one this time and thought it looked so much nicer I thought I might start doing the same thing! I bet we are not alone! They will probably become semi collectable - what's the bet the first one is relativly rare? Just looked on ebay - it's going at upwards from £14.99 with one at £49.99!!!

I read somewhere on the Internet a post book release interview with JK saying that it was Mr Weasley that she gave a reprieve to! Must admit I thought he was going to be one of the 2 major characters who died. I agree about the movie biz - it'll have to be really chopped down tho especially all that camping around in the woods. I agree - it was such a let down that he just came across the bodies. As I said earlier the wand stuff confused me with so many people losing their wands and getting other peoples. Exactly how do wands 'chose' people etc? And I'm sure I read through a lot of the last chapter or so too quickly. Still that means something to look forward to when I inevitably read it again. One thing I did do was read bk 6 before hand to prepare myself so that all that stuff about horcruxes etc was fresh in my head.

I thoroughly enjoyed it although it took me until about 10.00pm tonight (Sunday night). I started it 1.30ish Saturday - I wasn't so mad as to queue up on Friday night! I am going to discuss it with joyful abandon as Michelle has warned people about spoilers above and there is another thread for those still reading it. I didn't quite get my head around the different wand business and why the one that Harry had was the one that killed Voltemort (there you go Polka Dot Rock a bit of story line) but I expect if I go back and read it more slowly it'll make sense. I got tearful when Percy arrived out of the blue and again when Fred got killed and a little bit when Hedwig was. Oh and when Dobby was... Oh and wasn't the stuff with Kreacher becoming accepting of Harry so touching. And as for Snape, oh how my heart leapt when I found out after all he had stayed loyal. I thought throughout most of the book he had really turned to Voldemort. I bet the very last chapter will have loads of kids clamouring for more Potter books - just not Harry Potter!

Well I have at least 3 Good News Bibles, 2 New Internation Versions, a Revised English Bible, an ordinary Authorised Version (also known as King James), a modern French translation and a modern German translation given to my husband who speaks both. I have a copy of The Message/Remix which is the Bible translated into modern contemporary language. Interesting reading but not satisfactory for Bible Study. Also got The Living Bible divided into 365 Daily Readings which took me a year and a half to read. But my pride of place is a Authorised Version published to commemorate the marriage of HRH Prince Andrew and Sarah Margaret Ferguson 2nd July 1986! Beautiful Blue cover and silver gilt edged pages! Got others around the place as well but those are the ones that come to mind first of all.

I quite fancy myself as a bit of a writer but even so have lots of "how to" books and guides on writing and obviously The Writers and Artists Yearbook. Sometimes spend too much time looking at them when I should be trying to write! Also Christian books which are the other non-fiction area I buy like by well known authors such as Philip Yancy. Also collect different versions of the Bible - boring I know but it's interesting comparing olde worlde Authorised Version and ultra modern versions (to me). Oh and also craft books which come and go with the latest fad...

:blush:It was called "Lust"! Bout a guy who can imagine anyone he likes and they'll appear and start stripping off and ... well you can imagine the rest. It's kind of a high brow comedy erotica sort of book and I didn't read the blurb on the back although I should have guessed by the cover picture of a courgette and two tomatoes strategically placed!!!!

I caught my first one in a charity shop last week. I've been aware of bookcrossing for a while and keep meaning to do it but am not sure where I would leave one. I keep imagining that I will put it down somewhere and then someone will come running after me and say "you've left this" and I'll get all embarrased. Anyway I saw the bookcrossing sticker on the spine of the book and got all excited and bought it straight away. The book really wasn't my sort of thing at all!! Anyway I've put it on my swap list on ReadItSwapIt. Last journal entry for it was 2004!!

Well I can honestly say I have never lost my reading mojo and never imagined there was such a thing! I always have a book on the go. It's the most natural thing in the world for me! I might give up on a particular book but I always find something else to read instead. But I don't make myself read a set amount or anything. I just read a few pages or so depending on how much time I've got then settle down for a longer read at the end of the day before switching off the light.B)

The ending was very touching and beautifully done. A query - exactly who was the guy with the thistle down hair? was he

I have just finished this monumentous book which took me a month to read as it is over 1000 pages long but deservedly so. The author Susanna Clarke could easily have made it into a series of books about the main two characters but so generously put them together into one engrossing, fascinating and highly imaginative novel. Who else has read it and what did they think?

Just want to put another vote in for these books. I wasn't sure I would enjoy them being set abroad and with characters with names in a different language and yet soon overcame this as I was caught up in the stories and the characters. They are what you might call easy reading and yet the crimes which the main character sets out to solve are not easy to guess. The books also include some tragedy as well and can be thought provoking. I have read 3 so far and there is an on going story through them so I would advise people to read them from the start to throughly enjoy them.

I read the Bonesetter's Daughter a while ago and don't remember it being that long! Must have really enjoyed it that I didn't notice the length!

Finally got around to reading Black swan Green and it is an excellent book. You really get to feel for the main character, Jason in the dilemas he faces, both those typical of many a teenager but also those individual to him in his circumstances. For those of us growing up in that era there are so many, 'I remember that!' moments although after a while they get a little bit irritating as he proceeds to mention his Casio again and again rather than his watch. Knowing the area I can tell you he is absolutly accurate in his descriptions of the landscape of Malvern and Worcestershire right down to the presence of a garden centre in the Woolworths in Malvern where rumour has it , in the book, that there is a secret tunnel! Mitchell is excellent in his descriptions and his story telling and even manages to drop in a little reference to one of the character from Cloud Atlas. The book is in a completly different format to Cloud Atlas and is a bit like a boy half relating his story in a narrative form out loud to an audience and half in a journal at the same time. My other thought as I finished it was that it concluded in a most satisfactory way with the main character coming out on top without any huge act of bravado or heroics. Which I appreciated.

I am a great fan of Michael Crichton having read almost all of his books. Many of his books have been made into films including Jurassic Park, Lost World, Timeline, Rising Sun, Congo and Outbreak amongst others. He researches his subjects well and usually builds a great story around some scientific subject of potentially controversial or unlikely premise. However I was not impressed with State of Fear one of his most recent books. Has anyone else read it and what did they think of it?

I thought the Deathly Hallows sounded like a place. I bet it is the place where Harry has his final showdown with Voldemort - which is inevitable. I can only imagine the final defeat of Voldemort being a confrontation with him ending with some sort of 'duel' between the two of them.