Galactic Space Hamster

It seems like a good book. You may really enjoy it. I think it's just not for me though. I'll be interested to hear impressions about it.

Indeed! lol

It's all Dogmatix fault! Blame her!

It sounds really interesting. I have a great love of the Victorion style of writing. We have lost so much... What genre is it? Is this fantasy/SF or simply simply fiction? I am tempted...

For me it would be a toss up between Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe and Magicians Nephew. I haven't read the last couple of books yet so who knows! My opinion might change ;-)

We eat these regularly over here. Delicious too, if properly cooked. Yeah, those are yummy! I really like octopus and snails both. What part of the world are you in? And as for horse, it's yummy too. As others mentioned it does taste like steak although not completely.

I really like corn bread. If you like it, it's pretty easy to make it and cheap too. If you try it and like it then let me know and I'll send you or post a recipe for it. American biscuits are yum.

I generally eat whatever the locals eat. I really enjoy trying new things. Over the years I have tried quite a number of "strange" things. Horse Testicles Cow stomach stew Guts roasted on a stick Octopus Snails Frogs legs Crocodile And from the UK that would be foreign to those not living here... black pudding ( blood and oatmeal sausage ) Haggis ( heart, lungs, kidney of a sheep boiled in it's own stomach ) Pork scratchings ( pig skin in a bag ) Probably the only thing I would baulk at is anything that is still alive and wriggling. Other than that... serve it up!

Damn! This is so difficult! There are so many things I could list that I like. Also, I am really changable. Anyway... here goes! 1. Favourite main meal ~ pollo de chilindron 2. Favourite starter ~ tortilla chips topped with melted cheese, sour cream, salsa, jalapeno peppers and guacamole 3. Favourite dessert ~ cheesecake 4. Favourite pizza topping ~ chicken with BBQ sauce 5. Favourite bread ~ tiger bread 6. Favourite vegetable ~ sweetcorn 7. Favourite fruit ~ banana 8. Favourite cheese ~ brie ( with some cranberry sauce on the side ) 9. Favourite takeaway ~ Chinese or Indian. Really depends on mood. 10. Favourite chocolate bar ~ chocolate peanut butter cups ( at the moment ) 11. Favourite sandwich ~ Chorizo with fresh sliced tomato and mayo

Hey, cool! Try it with the orange in it. I think it really adds an interesting and different flavour. It is yum! As I said above, I think the oranges in it really make it extra special. My GF wasn't keen on the diced rind though, but I liked the slightly bitter orange taste.

Italian Casserole. INGREDIENTS 15g/1 tbsp butter 225/8oz shallots ( peeled ) 40g 1lb stewing steak ( diced ) 300ml/1/2 pint/1 1/4 cup good beef stock 200ml/ 1/2 cup of red wine Oregano ( better fresh, but quality dried fine ) 2 tbsp brown sugar 1 large orange or 2 medium oranges ( peel oranges - slice segments and VERY thinly cut rind to shreds ) 300 g button mushrooms 225g/8 oz fresh tomatoes ( I used tinned/canned ) METHOD 1 - Head the oil and butter in a large frying pan ( skillet ). Add the onions and mushrooms then saute for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove and keep warm. 2 - Add the beef to hot pan. Sear the meat and brown it well. 3 - Return the onions/mushrooms to the pan with the beef and also add the stock, wine, oregano, and sugar mix and stir well while heating. 4 - Transfer to a large heated oven dish and add the oranges and peel. Cook in preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours at 180.c/350.F/gas mark 4 5 - peel and halve the tomatoes and add to the dish ( or throw in the canned tomatoes at this point if using ) and cook for another 20 mins approx. The sauce should be thick and rich. If you try, let me know what you think. I used canned tomato instead of the fresh because I think it often makes for a richer sauce. If you would like a fresher flavour then use the fresh, but certainly be sure to use vine ripe tomatoes for full flavour.

Like Chocolate? Try Cyber Candy You can get great and exotic UK chocolates but their main business is chocolate from all around the world. You can get American, Chinese, Japanese, South African, Australian, and Canadian. Not just chocolate, they do other products too. Great store... stay away if you are on a diet ;-) All the choc you can handle and then some!

I read Eva Luna but I didn't like it nearly so much as I liked House of Spirits I have read though that it's not one of her best and am looking forward to reading a lot more of her over the years to come

Even peppermint tea? Every kind of tea! I'll stick to coffee lol

Yeah he does change quite dramatically over the course of the book. I also liked how you start with book with, at least I did, very firm opinions on what Mr Norrell was like as a person only to have to re-access them later after finding out more about his character.

1) I arrive at work every day in a marvelous airship of ingenious design! 2) My only addictions are decent coffee and yummy chocolate. 3) I have had at least 3 paranormal experiences. 4) Although I am British I find tea disgusting and foul. I would rather suck on a discarded tea cloth than taste this nasty beverage. Many foreigners find this strange. 5) Flogging Molly and Jarabe de Palo are my two most favourite bands.

I just can't get into this set of books. I have tried around four times but never managed to get more than a few chapters in. I think I'll have to file this into the "not for me" category.

I can highly recommend "House of Spirits" I really like Allende, but I have only read two of her novels, so far. The next one I get will be Zorro.

I read this book last year and fell deeply, madly, utterly in love with it. It's one of my favourite books of all time. There are a number of reasons why I liked it so much. Firstly, as Dogmatix says, the prose is wonderful. She writes beautifully. I'm a real sucker for Victorian literature, so I enjoyed her book JUST for the Victorian language and sentence structure. I think the book could have been about anything and I still would have loved it just for the prose. So I guess I am biased since I really adore that style of writing. It's not just that it's in the Victorian style though. She is a wonderful writer. Second reason is the characters. The people that populate the novel are some of the most realistic and well constructed characters of any book I have read. As in real life nobody in the novel is really stark good or bad but. Everybody has their good strengths and their failings to various degrees. Each character is very alive and real to me. Each character living in the pages and having motivations and desires that seem very real and understandable. I really liked the development of the characters as the years go by, and this is really one good reason to stick with the book. Thirdly, the story is great. It's a very original fantasy. I liked the way she blended fantasy with historical reality. I enjoyed her version of fantasy and the faery themselves. Sure, the story has a slow pace, but it's never dull. There is always something going on in the novel. Every chapter forwards the plot or a character. There never seems to be any padding or anything that I would cut from the novel. I'm really eager to read something new from her