~Andrea~

The house on the strand is on my tbr and is highly recommended by my mum (who is 10x the bookworm I am) so I would go for that one.

Yesterday we went cooking crazy having two sets of guests. For lunch we made our own rolls and served soup (shop bought) In the evening we did homemade meatballs and raita which we had with rice and we made our own naan bread . The naan bread was surprisingly easy although that was quite a lot of cooking for one day. Tonight was oven cooked fish and chips

Naughty naughty Nice to see you back!

Hi welcome Megan

Ah I see what you mean. I guess a "message" like that could annoy me too, particularly if I didn't have any faith. The story on the boat was my favourite part too. I read the book simply as a fantastic adventure, without perhaps taking on the full significance of the ending. I may have to mull it over some more. Thanks Andy.

Well I have to say I enjoyed this although I think that given other people's comments I may have missed some of the deeper meaning that annoyed some people so much. Taking it at face value I enjoyed it very much. I thought it was colourful, unusual and humourous. I loved the bits on the lifeboat. I loved the descriptions and Pis rambling thoughts. The religious musings didn't really bother me, in fact I quite liked them I think. I didn't pick up on the symbolism of the colours (as Andy mentioned above) and am not sure if I see them there anyway. I am confused about the term magic realism. I am still not sure what it is and why this book is an example of it (if indeed it is). Can anyone shed any light? One bit I didn't like much was Anyway to answer the questions 1- Who was your favourite character and why? Pi and Richard Parker 2- Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? All the bits on the boat 3- Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? Yes it was. I would probably read something else by the same author 4- Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I don't think so but I may be missing something. I would have perhaps enjoyed it more without the ending, but then again I did find the ending interesting. 5- Overall, was reading the book an enjoyable experience? Yes I can understand why people may have been disappointed with this book, while the prose was good I didn't find it outstanding. For a book so acclaimed I don't think it was that fantastic, very good but not brilliant. It's probably a good thing that I had reservations given other peoples misgivings. My expectations were not raised too high.

Finished Life of Pi, and enjoyed it (8/10), although maybe because I took it fairly simply at face value. Any deep symbolic meanings (beyond the obvious) may have been lost on me but I will comment on the reading circle thread. So now back to the wonderful The Stand

Ah, cunning. Can't say I blame her but it would have been very interesting to read an in depth version of her story.

Curry: chicken and veggies and a jar of sauce, and some homemade spinach dahl.

Is that the girl who was in the news recently (well I say recently, several months ago now I expect)?

Yes you're right. Even the baddies. I really enjoyed the bit where ETA: Oh I just remembered my dream last night. I was one of the last survivors after the human race was almost wiped out by a disease. My BF also survived, as did Richard and Judy who were broadcasting advice on TV. I wonder what could have made me dream that

egg and chips.

Oh what a shame. I hope you enjoy your next book.

I hadn't either until last year. I read Dolores Claiborne - it was OK but not brilliant. I can however thoroughly recommend The Stand. At 1400 pages though, it is a bit of a monster. (But it does have it's own ongoing Reading Circle here ) These are my only two SK novels. If you're looking for something shorter, my mum thoroughly enjoyed Misery last year, and it's on my wish list. But I am sure some others can point you in the right direction.

Hi and welcome. If you want encouragement in your reading this is definitely the right place. It's certainly helped me read more (in terms of quantity and range) nice to meet you

Hi FP, welcome to the site.

Thanks for that. I've had it for ages. I should really try and read it this year.

It's great isn't it. I feel totally immersed in that world.

Hi and welcome to the forum. This place will almost certainly expand your reading horizons. It's very friendly here, so make yourself at home.

chicken pie, parsnips, carrots, potatoes and peas.

I'd forgotten I'd put that on there . I seem to remember you didn't like it. It's probably quite low down on my priorities but I'm sure I'll get around to it at some point.

Mostly from amazon, or birthday/xmas presents and I always buy second hand books at the church fete. I used to use the library a lot but not som much lately. I like to buy second hand books on high risk options such as trying new authors but I do like to buy the odd book new (and ask for them as xmas birthday presents), as I like to support the authors too. Probably half my books are new, half are second hand, but I only read about 20 a year so it's not too expensive. Oh and the book people. They come round at work. I quite often pick up a bargain from them.

Well I have just started this, about 5 or 6 chapters in and so far so good. I haven't decided whether I have warmed to Pi or not yet but so far the book is very readable and engaging. Looking forward to continuing this particularly because it has proved so divisive.

Well The Stand is absolutely riveting!! I can hardly bare to put it down. I'm just under half way and feel I am rushing to finish so that I can get stuck into the Life of Pi for Jan's reading circle. So I have decided to take a little break from The Stand to start Life of Pi so that I can get back to The Stand and fully concentrate on it and savour every moment .

I'm about at page 600 and still not half way through I have to say I am loving this book. I'm normally put off by long books but there is something about the length that really works here. king can fit loads of characters in and while that was a bit off putting at first I love the diversity now I am really settled into it. I think my favourite character so far is Nick Andros. I love the bits with him and Tom Cullen. I can't wait to find out what happens when