~Andrea~

Hi and welcome! I used to listen to audiobooks all the time in the car but seem to have got out of the habit lately. I'm thinking of revisiting a few old favourites though! My favourite audiobooks were Sissy Spacek reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and Martin Jarvis reading Metamorphosis! Great readers and great books!

Hello and welcome. Sorry for the late reply!

Hi and welcome! Sorry for the late response. I hope you come back and post some more!

Hello and welcome I hope you enjoy your time here.

Hi and welcome to the forum. I bet you're not boring at all! There are some great authors in your favourites list there! I wish you luck in your desire to work in a bookshop! I hope you can find something that suits you and your individual challenges.

Hello I would think you'd be better asking on a scientific forum for book recommendations of that nature.

Ooh whoops! My bad! I totally misunderstood. It sounds great anyway!

I started to watch the The City and the City on BBC2, and it's very good. However I missed 80% of episode one so I was a little confused and still haven't finished watching it. I'd be intrigued to read the book.

I can't stop listening to Born To Die (album) by Lana Del Ray at the moment. I only just bought it even though it's a bit old now. Such a great album.

I love the sound of The Widow! I've added it to my wish list. Very promising if you still rated it highly as a re-read!

Well I'm smashing my weekly target so far. I'm on page 318 now and I read 150 pages last week. I'm really enjoying it. I think maybe I needed a bit of momentum to get me going. Reading 5 pages here and there is no way to get into a book. The hot weather and a bit of insomnia has probably helped too.

I really enjoyed the Handmaid's Tale. I'm going to add The Great Gatsby to my wish list based on your review.

Great reviews Madeleine. I especially like the sound of How to Stop Time (a few months back!).

Aw sorry to hear about the chickens! But happy that one survived at least. I have a new cat!! I acquired, Molly, back in March. The lady who gave me my other cat, Bella, last year gave her to me. Molly is older than Bella, at least 12 I think. She is a lot slower than Bella, especially in play. But she's a cute little thing, really sweet-natured, and a beautiful long-haired tortoiseshell. This weather is too hot for me and my cats. I can't sleep at night at all, it must be awful for them with all that fur!!

Thanks Frankie! Yes going to bed earlier seems an impossible goal. However my little deadline seems to be working well, and I've taken to reading downstairs occasionally. I read in the garden last night (it was lovely - it's really hot here at the moment, almost unbearably so - but it's lovely at dusk). Anyway, I'm well on track with my 100 pages a week goal so, so far so good!!

Oh Snowdonia is beautiful. I rarely get up that way living in the South, but I love it when I do. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one Bronwyn! I have so many books to read though, and so many I want to read that I really need a push! Audiobooks definitely count. I used to listen to a lot in the car, and found it a great way to up my 'reading' - or rather my book consumption!

So I read 10 pages last night! Hardly a good start. Unless I am really hooked by a book then I usually only manage 10-15 pages before I go to sleep. I generally only read in bed (very occasionally on the bus) and I don't read every day, in fact I often don't read at all at bedtime because I'm too tired. This is why I hardly get through any books! I'm determined to read more though, which I think means not just reading at bedtime. Or going to bed earlier - the latter of which I've failed at for years. So I need to read in the evenings I think, and more on weekends. I used to read every Saturday morning while I was coming to. Maybe I should try doing that again!

Where in Wales did you go?? Plenty of beautiful hiking country here!

My reading has stalled again, however I've picked up Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb. I'm going to give myself a deadline. It's about 650 pages long and I've read about 50 so I'll attempt to complete it in 6 weeks, which will take me to 7th August. That's only 100 pages a week. Even I should be able to do that!!

Thanks both! I'm definitely going to look out for more from him.

I wasn't keen on How To Be Good either. It was just annoying, and seemed to miss the point. I liked High Fidelity and loved About A Boy but I haven't read any Hornby since The Long Way Down which I also didn't rate much. You're right though, About A Boy is different to the film, and a lot better (even though the film is pretty good). I read and enjoyed Ender's Game but for some reason never got to any of the sequels.

Take No Farewell by Robert Goddard When Geoffery Staddon reads in the newspaper about a murder at Clouds Frome, the beautiful country house he designed as a young architect, a past he thought he'd left behind rises to meet him once more. The beautiful Consuela has been accused of murdering her sister-in-law and niece and of attempting to take the life of her own husband. Unable to believe that the woman he once knew is guilty, he finds himself embroiled in the hunt for the real killer, and the skeletons in his own cupboard start to fall out and threaten to turn his world upside down. I picked this up at a jumble sale, never having heard of the author before. I really enjoyed it. From the outset I just liked the writing style, and settled comfortably into the story, which turned out to be rather gripping. It's set just before and after the first world war (although the war doesn't feature much), and the writing style suited that era perfectly. My only criticism was that some of the dialogue was occasionally a little jarring, but it didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of the book. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Love the review of 'I am Pilgrim' Will. That's definitely one to avoid then

Mine too. It's freezing at night as well. I've had to put my big fleece blanket back on the bed! Last weekend I was barelegged in skirts and summer-tops!