Polka Dot Rock

*Ahem* Just realised, it's actually 30 as I have two on order... Oops!

Lol, all the above looks as clear as mud to anyone who hasn't read it! Sorry not-yet-read-The Robber Bride people! It's for your own good

I've just ordered a second-hand copy from marketplace for £2.75 (Actually 1p, but then plus P&P). With that sort of money, I better not be disappointed!!

Excellent review, cheers Paula! Made me think about it all over again. The theme of the battle between women is written really well, I feel: it's something I feel quite strongly about as a feminist so I appreciated Atwood's take on it. I also like the way she really makes Tony, Roz and Charis seem quite isolated within their narratives, so even though they have eachother, they are basically alone with their verious situations and thoughts. Did you have a favourite character? I think it's hard to choose but Roz did make me chuckle!

Hmm... let's see *scuttles off to blog* TBR Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood Mansfield Park - Jane Austen Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen Villette - Charlotte Bronte* The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop - Lewis Buzbee Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes (trans. Edith Grossmann)* No Name - Wilkie Collins* David Copperfield - Charles Dickens* A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens* The Woman Who Walked Into Doors - Roddy Doyle Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier Julius - Daphne du Maurier The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot* The Crimson Petal and The White - Michel Faber The Big Fat Bitch Book - Kate Figes Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Isherwood Finn Family Moomintroll - Tove Jansson Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones The People's Act of Love - James Meek Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky (trans. Sanda Smith) Franny & Zooey - J.D Salinger Anna Karenina - L.N. Tolstoy* ...So 26 and growing!

If I may Michelle, I'd recommend reading The Robber Bride first. Out of the two, I think it'd serve as a good introduction to Atwood's different writing styles, tones, narratives etc, set in a modern(ish) context (Canada in the 1980s). The Handmaid's Tale may be hard to get hold of as it is a favourite of many so they probably don't want to let go of their copies

That's also on my TBR list. Waiting for my hols! Everyone I know who's read it has flipped over with praise so really looking forward to it

Glad you enjoyed it Paula It's a cracker isn't it? I like how Margaret Atwood seems to be a deceptively 'cuddly' writer, yet her books are actually very dark!

As babies go, I think Katie will be among the first to know what a book is, with a mum like you Emma

Oh pants I forgot Rebecca... Can I do a top 15?

Oh damn... Now I want to read it!!

(Off topic, but since you started the thread: I noticed that you're reading Jodi Picoult - I read a really good article/interview yesterday you may be interested in. Find it here)

I'd love it if she did use Louise - I thought she was hilarious! And very sympathetic too...

I adored this book! Definitely going to end up being a highlight of my reading year. I bought it my mum for Christmas as she loves Kate Atkinson, and I've bought her Case Histories for her upcoming birthday. Do you think she'll do anymore 'Jackson Brodie' novels? I hope so! EDIT: I'd also like to point out that One Good Turn was especially amazing for me as I don't read crime novels!!

Off the very top of my head, as of right now: * Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga * Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte * Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov * Animal Farm by George Orwell * The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver * Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte * After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell * The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood * Wise Children by Angela Carter * On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Ah, compatible again Rennie!

Right, that's me sold to that then!!

Oh, I cry so easily at films! Was reminded of one last night, when I caught the last 5 mins of Lost In Translation... and STILL ended up crying! I find the ending very moving. Beaches is a classic weep fest and I now refuse to watch Steel Magnolias because it embarrasses me how I cry everytime I've seen! But my ultimate sob-fest can be named in just two letters... E.T. "I'll be riiiight heeeere"

You're very right Judy! Jenny Uglow wrote a biography about him last year and I remember reading quite a few articles last year. Here's one: Small Wonders, and here's a bit about how Bewick ended up in Jane Eyre:

Thanks Kell I'll be keeping an eye on your progress too I'm thinking of saving The Mill on the Floss for my upcoming hols - seems quite summer-y, strangely.

Since decided to change the perimeters of my Doorstep Challenge a bit, so The Tenderness of Wolves now qualifies as a chunky monkey The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney Started 10/04/2007 - Finshed 22/04/2007 Paperback: 466 pages Publisher: Quercus; New Ed edition (8 Feb 2007) Language English ISBN-10: 1847240674 ISBN-13: 978-1847240675 Wonderfully powerful beginning: In fact, I can't remember the last time I was so impressed by the opening pages of a novel! However, that means it has to continue to impress Very promising start though! I'm only about 70+ pages in but I'm loving it thus far: it's extremely atmospheric and very readable. It's establishing a lot of characters, who are all so interesting that I want to know more. I really like how Penney switches narrative point-of-view between third person for the majority of the time, then uses first-person narration for Mrs Ross (who's a very intriguing lady...). Really enjoying it, just wish I had chance to read more this week! Still, it's the weekend very soon, so some quality 'sit down and tell the world to shut up' time is ahead! * * * * * The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney was an absolute joy to read: I throughly enjoyed it and it well deserves it's award winning status ("Boo!" to the Orange Prize for not shortlisting it: "Boo!" again, in fact). I will review it properly as I'd like more people to hear about it. Beautiful characterisation, wonderful plotting, AMAZING atmosphere (I can't think of anything I've read that captures a mood and landscape so completely)... A beautiful and compulsive novel, and I can scarcely believe it's only Penney's first! She is also a screenwriter, and although the dialogue is pitch-perfect, I can't imagine this particular story as anything other than a written narrative. It's one of the few books where I've got to the end and felt a huge need to read more. I demand a sequel! I can't be left without knowing more...

I've decided to change the perimeters of my Doorstep Challenge a bit, so The Tenderness of Wolves (466 pages) now qualifies as a chunky monkey Which is nice.

Here I am again, wading in with yet another challenge that ties in with my heaving TBR list. I've decided to put Modern Classics here too, which will be in the pink. These will usually be post-1900, although not always! January Vanity Fair - W.M Thackeray (8/10) March Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (6/10) April A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (5/10) May Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier (8/10) Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons (10/10) My Cousin Rachel - Daphne du Maurier (8/10) TBR Lucky Jim - Kingsley Amis Money - Martin Amis The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood Mansfield Park - Jane Austen Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen Sense & Sensibility - Jane Austen Villette - Charlotte Bronte The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes (trans. Edith Grossmann) No Name - Wilkie Collins David Copperfield - Charles Dickens Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons Goodbye to Berlin - Christopher Isherwood Watchmen - Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami Franny & Zooey - J.D Salinger Anna Karenina - L.N. Tolstoy To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf

A similar situation to me: once I came home for my year out, I found that I could read all the books I wanted to... But had no-one to talk about them with! It's funny really, as many people were speculating about the internet being the death knell for the poor old fashioned book, but it's actually given it a whole new lease of life! A solitary pursuit has now become a social one, because of sites like this. And a very good thing it is too