~Andrea~

I finished the Asylum a few weeks ago. I thought it was really good. When Georgina Ferrars wakes up in an asylum with no memory of the last three weeks, everybody else thinks she is Lucy Ashton, a person of whom she has never heard. Desperate to escape the Asylum and unlock the mystery of who she is, she sets out to piece together the mystery of her identity and how she got here. I really enjoyed this, it had me gripped from page one. It's set in Victorian Times and is a pastiche of a Victorian Gothic novel. It's one of those stories that intrigues from the outset and I couldn't wait to find out what was going on. The only criticism I had was that the ending was a bit melodramatic.

I started reading John Harwood's The Asylum last night. So far it's great. I love John Harwood, and this is a book that is making me want to go to bed so I can read it.

In some ways it wasn't as tightly written as Gone Girl but overall I enjoyed the characters, story and ending better. Hope you like it if you read it. Looking forward to Dark Places I've given up on A Seaside Affair. It's just not that well written (more telling than showing) and possibly even contains some product placement (I could forgive that if the book was awesome enough). Most of all I was finding it dull and bland so it's going in the charity pile. I tried a bit more of my philosophy book and Godric after that. Godric is well-written but hard going and I think I've worked out why. It's prose but very rhythmical prose and could almost be blank verse. So I find it a lot slower to read. I'm about half way through and determined to finish it. It's almost like a series of little episodes and spiritual ponderings rather than a plot driven novel, so I can dip in and out of it quite well.

I started A Seaside Affair by Fern Britten last night. I'm not loving it so far, there's a lot of info-dumping to set up characters and setting. I'll give it another 15 pages then if it doesn't improve it's out. It only cost me 20p or so so no drama.

Interesting comments on The Girl On the Train. I loved it (well most of it) and I loved the narrator but can totally understand someone not liking her - she's not that likeable. I agree about the ending though - it was pretty dire.

Hear hear Chrissy. I'll be 51 in 10 years and I don't feel depressed about it at all! People are like wine. We improve with age I'd like to see myself growing more into the kind of person I'd like to be and get even more comfortable in my own skin - which is something that has been happening as I've grown older. I'd like to be in my own house, with a chunk of the mortgage paid off, a cat or two, a novel or two published and to have left the rat race or changed careers into something I can see myself doing until I retire. I don't see me doing my current job until I'm 67! It's far too stressful! I'm single at the moment and currently liking it that way so whether there'll be anyone sharing that future - hmm, well we'll see

Ooh good to know. Thanks BB

I finished Sharp Objects and I loved it!! I think I liked it more than Gone Girl actually. It's a real page-turner and even though I couldn't wait to get to the end I'm now sad that I can't read it anymore - a sign of a good book!!

I've just started Sharp Objects actually. Liking it so far! Thank you. I look forward to getting stuck in. They're tiny little books Kylie. Short stories and articles really. I thought it'd be handy to keep one or two in my handbag in case I ever gets stuck waiting somewhere. I look forward to getting to the Lizzie Borden. I might even slip that one in first

I haven't been reading a great deal lately. I've been ploughing away with my Philosophy of Mind book which is a bit of a tome and quite hardgoing at times although very interesting. I am struggling with Godric though. It's a modern book set in medieval times and written in medieval style language and it's quite hard work. I think maybe the heavy nature of my current reads is why I'm not reading a lot lately lol! I picked up a load of second hand books for £2 from my church fete last May bank holiday though and a lot of them were quite light reads so I guess I'm craving that: Gillian Flynn - Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn - Dark Places Ian Rankin - A Cool Head Ian Rankin - Watchmen Fern Britten - A Seaside Affair Pam Rhodes - Letting Go Susan Hill - The Various Haunts of Men Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities JoJo Moyes - The Girl You Left Behind John Caunt - Organise Yourself A little box of Penguins (10 tiny books) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Little-Penguins-Volumes-Including-Umneys/dp/0140954139/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432640794&sr=1-2&keywords=little+box+of+penguins

Welcome Dan I hope you enjoy it here

I never knew it was an allegory either. I read it years ago and I agree Cathy is a superb character. One of the best in literature probably.

Hi and welcome

Yes! That's her! Thank you Ooh - hmm - I don't remember. Quite possibly.

I've inevitably thought of a few more people now. At the risk of turning this into a 'name the ex-member' thread, I'll just mention one whose name I cannot for the life of me remember. She was french I think, and she had an exotic, pretty sounding name like Roberta or Sofia (It wasn't Roberta or Sofia) and she had a lovely way with words and seemed a very warm and kind person. I think she may have had ME or some kind of health issue that kept her from the forum sometimes. Does anyone know who I mean?

I've been on the forum since 2006. I found it through a google search because I was trying to read more and thought a book forum would encourage me to do so (which it certainly has and I've discovered/tried many wonderful books and authors because of this place). I immediately loved it here because it was so friendly and uncontroversial; there are some really confrontational and unpleasant forums out there on t'internet! This however is a lovely happy troll-free place, which I realize isn't just a lucky coincidence but the result of a lot of hard work by Michelle and the team. It's also really supportive and I know I'm not the only one who has benefited from the support and friendship of the community here. Although I have a tendency to come and go a little bit it's always a lovely refuge to come back to when I need it. I've seen a lot of faces come and go over the years. I always think it's a shame when a regular poster leaves and then you never hear from them again and don't know what happened to them. I mean if someone died you might not know. They would just drop off the radar, (sorry that's a bit morbid!) although I guess with facebook etc now you might find out. I miss some of the members who no longer post, Purple Poppy, Ice-cream, Renniemist, HappyAndDandy to name a few. But there are always new faces showing up and it's great to get to know new people as well as all the regulars and chit-chat about books, life and all that.

Good article, though a bit spoilerish for Gone Girl

I wasn't that keen on A Long Way Down either Ruth. As you say the characters just weren't likeable enough for me. I think Maureen was the only one I felt much warmth towards. It's years since I read it so can't remember the details but I do seem to remember Jess being someone I could not get along with at all. It's definitely one of his weaker ones. I didn't enjoy How to Be Good either and didn't bother reading any others after this one. It's a shame as I thought About A Boy was brilliant (better than the film which is also good)

I started reading Godric by Frederick Buechner a few days ago. So far I like it, but it is an unusual book.

It was a great book Noll, so I can kind of forgive it. Most of the characterization was superb. The female characters were particularly well drawn.

Oh wow. I'm so behind with everyone's threads. Congratulations Alexi!! (I won't ask the D-word question ) I hope OH is on the mend

The Girl On The Train This is the story of Rachel, who likes to watch people in their houses from her seat on the train. She gets drawn into the life of one couple in particular and one day sees something that shocks and upsets her. From thereon she becomes truly caught up in their lives and is no longer a mere spectator. Described as "Rear Window meets Gone Girl, in this exceptional and startling psychological thriller" Warning my spoiler tags contain some quite big spoilers so no peeking if you want to read This book had me utterly engrossed from page one. The main narrator is Rachel, who, as it becomes increasingly clear, is quite an unstable person with lots of issues. That made her really interesting, and I thought she was well drawn and believable. The other characters as well were interesting and flawed and I liked the emotional turmoil and complexity in the book. The story itself was gripping and I always wanted to know what would happen next. It was often hard to put down. So the book got off to a great start. There were however a few things I didn't like. I really could not believe Another thing I couldn't buy into at all was Overall I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it, but it did have one or two rather large flaws.

I loved Room too Marie. I'm loving The Girl on the Train and would definitely recommend it based on what I've read so far - it's really pacey and the characters are so interesting but I'm not even a quarter way through yet. The Barbara Vine is somewhat slower. I'd never read any of hers before either.

Started The Girl on the Train last night and was instantly hooked. I have a feeling I'm giong to love reading this!