~Andrea~

Aww cute dog kitty. I'm ill at the moment so have done loads of reading during the day and it feels wierd cos I usually read at night. Also feel kind of guilty that i'm not doing more productive things but then i'm ill so i cant do much else. I hate being ill its boring! I'm even getting fed up of reading!

What book is that with pictures in kitty?

Oh yes John Wyndham is an excellent author. We read the Chrysalids in school, though I think that might have been a short story. I read half the midwich cuckoos and its excellent but to my shame I didnt finish it (I am getting better at finishing things I start!) and I ended up watching the film (The village of the damned, with Christopher Reeve) to find out what happened. Maybe I should give Chocky a try...

So that's how you get through so many books! Ok I dont feel so bad now. I was beginning to think I was the worlds slowest reader. I've never been able to read in the bath. Don't the pages go all wiggly at the edges from the moisture? ETA actually audio books sound like a good idea, I could listen to them in the car.

I think there are a number of essential things that have to be right. Main character very important. Im not enjoying my current book much and I think im not relating to the characters. But I also need the right amount of pace and good use of language. I think there a whole lot of parameters that go into making a book enjoyable and its the combination of them all that has to be just right. Its very difficult to nail down what makes the recipe just right from all those complex ingredients. But yes characters are probably the ultimate key and the most important thing for me.

So you all dont have that much more reading time than me. Well you must all be super fast readers then. Either that or i'm super slow

Me too!!

Me too.

You lot seem to read so much! I've only read a handful of books this year, so what's the secret? Do you read superfast or do you spend every spare minute reading? I tend to read in bed and not necessarily every night. Occasionally I will read in the evenings or (rarely) in the garden if its sunny and I have some free time. How about you?

Hi Sarathy and welcome! You should put you two pence in on this thread then http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2337

So whats the deal with the Stand and its unabridged and abridged versions? Why is there more than one? I've only read Dolores Claiborne but quite enjoyed it. Was quite short and easy reading though no chapters just a single blob so its hard to know when to stop I'd really like to read the Stand though the length is daunting. I'd also like to try IT but think it might be too scary (and long) And I quite fancy giving misery a go.

I'm reading Keeping Faith at the mo. I'm not that far into it but I can't say i'm enjoying it much. I'm looking forward to finishing it so I can get on with something else.

Yes the Birds is really good actually. I also seem to remember The Apple Tree being quite good as well, which is in my copy of "The Birds and other stories" At least I think that's what its called. What treats you have ahead of you

Yea has been on my list for a little while, really must order it from amazon

Interesting... You've got me intrigued now. I'll definitely give it a second chance. It was years ago that I tried it before. Sometimes things can be more enjoyable at a different life stage.

Ok so i'm not the fastest reader in the world unlike some of you folks out there My aim for 2007 is to read 25 books. So far this year: 1 The girl in a swing - Richard Adams 9/10 2 Ugly - Constance Briscoe 9/10 3 The last word - Brian McLaren 7/10 4 The big love - Sarah Dunn 7/10 5 Dolores Claiborne - Stephen King 6/10 6 Keeping faith - Jodi Picoult 6/10 (30/04 - 16/05) 7 This book will save your life - A M Homes 8/10 (11/05 - 04/06) 8 The Thief of Always - Clive Barker 8/10 (04/06 - 08/06) 9 The Other Side of Nowhere - Daniella Westbrook 9/10 (08/06 - 14/06) 10 Of mice and men - Steinbeck 9/10 (15/06 - 21/06) 11 The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde 9/10 (23/06 - 11/07) 12 The Hobbit - Tolkein 9/10 (11/07 - 27/07) 13 Dracula - Bram Stoker (8/10 28/07 - 20/08) 14 Carmilla - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (7/10 09/08 - 12/08) 15 Anne of Green Gables (8/10 20/08 - 9/09) 16 My cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier (10/10 09/09 - 24/09) 17 Selected Writings - Meister Erkhart (unfinished 25/09 - 16/10) 18 Harry Potter and the half blood prince - J K Rowling (8/10 29/09 - 29/10) 19 Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen (audio, abridged) (9/10 17/10 - 21/12) 20 Karma - Holly Harvey (7/10 30/10 - 10/11) 21 Knots and Crosses - Ian Rankin (8/10 10/11 - 26/11) 22 Flatland - Edwin Abbott (10/10 26/11 - 18/12) 23 The Stand - Stephen King (26/11 - ) To read soon: Life of Pi - Yann Martell Guards Guards - Terry Pratchett The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides Books on the Bookshelf: Unread Minnette Walters - The shape of snakes Minnette Walters - Acid Row PD James - A Certain Justice Wilkie Collins The Woman in White Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales (modern translation) Thomas Hardy Far from the madding crowd Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason Joanna Trollope - The men and the girls Justin Cartwright - The promise of happiness How to talk to a widower - Jonathan Tropper Damaged - Cathy Glass James Herbert - Haunted Agatha Christie - Five little pigs Shakespeare plays: Othello The Merchant of Venice King Lear Julius Caesar Twelfth night A Winter's tale half read: Pride And Prejudice The French Lieutenant's woman - John Fowles To read at some point: The Testament of Gideon Mack A spot of bother - Mark Haddon James Herbert - The Secret of Crickley Hall Walking Ollie - Stephen Foster The Time Machine - H G Wells The House on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier The Secret Garden The Ghost Writer - John Harwood Superstition - David Ambrose LOTR - Tolkein Far from the madding crowd - Hardy The Princess Bride Rabecca - Daphne Du Maurier Something Wicked this way comes - Ray Bradbury The Time Travellers Wife Shopgirl - Steve Martin The book of lost things - John Connelly Chocky - John Wyndham Little Women - Louisa May Alcott Harry Potter and the deathly hallows - J K Rowling Winnie the Pooh - (complete short stories and poems) A. A. Milne Rumble Fish - Susan Hinton Dirk Gently's Holistic detective agency - Douglas Adams (reread) The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery The Planiverse - A.K. Dewdney Stuck in neutral - Terry Trueman The Oyster House Siege - Jay Rayner Spilling the beans - Clarissa Dickson Wright To consider reading: Middlemarch - George Eliot Black Swan Green - David Mitchell The commitments - Roddy Doyle Plague Dogs - Richard Adams Angela's Ashes Authors to try: Phillip K Dick Anthony Horowitz David Baddiel Anne Tyler Kelley Armstrong Raven Hart

Yea maybe i'll give it another go. Enjoyed the film though with Laurence Olivier, very melodrama Will have a look through my books and make some recommendations. Ithink I have the collection you mentioned.

Yea I've only read Garp, a few years ago now. Remember really enjoying it, but finding it sad or slighty depressing. I should probably try some of his other stuff.

Oh I looove Daphne Du Maurier, though I haven't read anything by her for years. I'm more of a fan of her short stories actually. I read and enjoyed Jamaica Inn but found Rabecca hard work and never finished it. Her short stories though I love!! My favourite is perhaps the Blue lenses. But Don't Look Now is really good too. Her stories have a certain darkness about them with supernatural or otherworldly undertones which I love. Yay I'm so glad there's a thread about her now!! The House on the Strand has been on my TBR pile for years. I really should read it soon!

I think Pilgrims Progress is mentioned in George Eliots The Mill on the Floss

Ok here goes The Beach - Alex garland The Magicians Nephew - C S Lewis The lion the witch and the wardrobe - C S Lewis Watership Down - Richard Adams Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte Animal farm - George Orwell Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C Clarke Who goes here - Bob Shaw The man who was Thursday - G K Chesterton The end of eternity - Isaac Asimov A fairly eclectic mix with a slight leaning towards sci fi

Ooh same birthday as me Birthday:11 Dec 73 Age:33 Starsign:who cares Single/Married/Other?other - attached Children? no Where do you live? south wales Do you work? yes im a geek - I mean a software developer Favourite author? Err C S Lewis, Daphne Du maurier, plus many more Favourite book? The Beach, Watership down, plus many more How did you get here? Google search

Really interesting to see everyone elses lists. I'm currently composing mine - but it has 11 in it and im sure there'll be more added before I get it down to 10!

Oh what a shame, I really enjoyed the last episode.

Ah right. Well I think the dvd is out tuesday or wednesday so not long to wait!