~Andrea~

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Fight Club and Vanilla Sky? You've probably already seen those though.

The Machinist is another good one. Not a horror, a psychological thriller.

There are lots of twists in horror, if you like that sort of thing. The big obvious ones are The Sixth Sense and The Others, but also stuff like Malignant, or The Boy. I enjoyed all of these. I'm not sure if that's your bag though.

I am very intrigued now by 'From the Depths of the Sea'! I recently finished Treasure Island and found it a very enjoyable pacy read! OK it's old so the writing style isn't modern but it's a good classic adventure story. It should have been a very quick read - it's not that long - and but for some other things going on for me at the moment I'd have read it a lot more quickly. The pirates are very menacing and proper villains, and the book has plenty of peril and danger in it and I loved that. Some of the characters are dark and dangerous and I wouldn't want to meet any of them in a dark alley. Highly recommend. A Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Aaaarrr!!

Hope you're enjoying/enjoyed it Chrissy. I had an extremely busy July and have only just got back to this! It's a real page turner so hopefully I'll fly through it.

Well I've started treasure Island - not that far in yet - and so far it's great. I think I'm going to love this!

When the first Harry Potter book came out I gave it a go but for some reason couldn't get on with it - (perhaps I found it over hyped) and so I never bothered with the series or any of the films. However my ex got me into the films, (when the fifth one was already out) by making me watch Azkaban. I was pleasantly surprised and became hooked. I then read the final two books when they came out so I could get in there before the films were released and I loved them. I have since watched all the films many times but never read any more than the last two books - until now. Someone loaned me the entire series so I am trying to race through them so that I can return them in a timely manner! I have enjoyed the first two and am looking forward to the third, which I think is where the series really takes off.

My Man Jeeves - P G Wodehouse I enjoyed the second Jeeves book - My man Jeeves although I was very confused when Jeeves and Wooster disappeared from the stories and Reggie Pepper and his valet appeared. Apparently Reggie was a an early prototype of Bertie Wooster. I preferred the Jeeves and Wooster stories but the others (half of the stories are Reggie Pepper) are also entertaining.

Oh that's a brilliant read! I was just thinking that would be perfect for this. I might have a go at this. Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe and Moby Dick are all appealing to me.

Take my Hand - Dolen Perkins-Valdez Inspired by true events, this work of fiction tells the story of Civil Townsend, a family planning nurse to two poor young black girls in Alabama in the seventies. Appalled by the family's living conditions she takes them under her wing and gets them housing help and more, going above and beyond her first duty as a nurse. Although alarmed by the requirement to give such young girls birth control she nevertheless carries out her duties, only to find that the shots she is to give them are experimental. Worse is to come as the girls fall victim to what turns out to be a devastating medical scandal of immense proportions and Civil's fight to free them from poverty turns into a fight for justice on a scale she could never have imagined. I hadn't realised how much of this book was fictional as I read it. It was only when I came to the author's note at the back that I realised how much had been imagined. It is based on a real case of two young girls from Alabama, but the girls in this book, their family and the nurse (and her personal struggles which form a significant part of the story) are all imagined. I had taken it entirely at face value (assuming bits of it were re-imagined for dramatic purposes etc). Either way the story is truly gripping, very well written, and the extent of the medical scandal horrifying. I was surprised not to have heard about before. It feels like one of those books that is important, as it shines a light on a dark part of history that deserves to be remembered.

Oh that sounds painful! I hope it heals quickly. Not being able to read in the meantime is, well, just cruel frankly. At least you have the audio books but I know it's not the same. Get well soon!

The Flat Share - Beth O'Leary Tiffy and Leon share a single bed flat in London. They have just one rule, that they're never in the flat, or the bed, at the same time. I fancied something really light and easy to read and picked this up in a charity shop having never heard of the author before. It was good, a nice, light, easy, funny romcom with an engaging storyline and well written too. However: But overall I enjoyed it and I'd try this author again.

Oh a toddler will definitely keep you busy! Well my favourite sci-fi reads are probably "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C Clarke and "The End of Eternity" by Isaac Asimov, both classics from the golden age of sci fi. I also enjoyed "Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K Dick, and the Asimov short story "Nightfall One" is a must read for any sci fi fans. I know - so many great sci fi reads out there. It is hard to choose!

That's a good point. I like your ending. And if that's what was in Bradbury's head then that sounds good to me

Hi and welcome. It sounds like you read at a similar rate to me. I'm trying to get my reading back up into double figures again this year. I also love a bit of sci fi and have just read Fahrenheit 451!

I had to learn Welsh in school for one year but found it much harder than French or German and dropped it as soon as I could. The teaching method was very different for Welsh than it was for French and German. Looking back I wonder if having native speakers teach you a second language is unhelpful because learning a second language is so different to learning a first. You need to have the basic grammar broken down for you. We did no grammar in Welsh; it felt like we were just learning phrases by rote. I started learning Welsh properly as an adult and the first thing I did was buy a grammar book. It was so much easier when you could understand how it fits together and then build your own sentences rather than repeating set phrases. Regarding Cornish I remember watching a programme about the language revival several years ago and they said the language never truly died out because there were still some families who spoke it at home and passed it down. I hope they do manage to keep it alive. It's quite similar to Welsh apparently. And Breton, spoken in northern France, is even closer to Welsh than Cornish.

Hi Ben, welcome. I hope you enjoy the Discworld books. I read quite a few many years ago. They're very entertaining and funny.

Wow this is so interesting. I love languages and have learned many over the years, none to a very good level though. Basic French and German in school and a bit of holiday Spanish. My most proficient is Welsh, but I'm far from fluent in that. I find the history of England the etymology of words fascinating, but studying old English, well that's just another level! Very impressive!

Hmm I think I'm going to have to check out this Frey and McGray series. I've seen it mentioned in a couple of threads now and your review makes it sound great!

🤣 Brilliant review. I will steer well clear if that one then.

Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury Montag is a fireman who is paid to burn books, because books help people think, and that's not good for society. Then Montag meets someone who does think, which in turn makes him think, and this turns out to be more dangerous than he ever realised. I love a bit of sci fi, and this dystopian tale didn't disappoint. I had to abandon the book I started before this one because it felt so badly written. As soon as I picked up this one I thought 'Ah, that's more like it'. The writing style is different to anything I've read for a while. The descriptions are spare and the technology described alien and not so easy to picture, however the oppressive atmosphere is palpable, from the authoritarian regime to the shallow society and its citizens shallow relationships. The story is pacy and trips along and the ideas are interesting and engaging. I liked it.

Persipolis - Marjane Satrapi The autobiographical account of a young girl growing up in 1970s Iran, this graphic novel covers everything from the Islamic revolution and the Iran Iraq war to sneaking out to buy western clothes and music on the black market. I'm on a mission to find great graphic novels by and for women. I love the format but a lot of GNs seem quite male or dare I say it, juvenile. The medium seems dominated by superheros, sci fi, fantasy, horror and violence. (Yes this could be a horrible misrepresentation, however that was my impression when browsing at the library). My research brought me to Persepolis, considered by many a classic of the form. Boy is it great! It's funny, educational, poignant, horrifying, and true. The story of Iran's recent history is brilliantly captured in Satrapi's simple but beautiful black and white artwork, with wit and silliness. It presents a volatile and frightening period through the eyes of a child, the strong-minded, defiant Satrapi herself. I loved loved loved this wonderful book.

Delicacy: A memoir about cake and death - Katy Wix Katy Wix is a comedy actress. She played Daisy (brilliantly) in Not Going Out and plays Mary in the BBC sitcom Ghosts. She's also been on Taskmaster. This is her memoir. I heard a review of this on the radio and added it to my wish list. The inside cover is full of similar recommendations from well known comedians using words such as raw, funny, insightful, hilarious, extraordinary etc. So I was expecting great things. As I began to read, while I enjoyed it, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. There is humour in it, but it is often a very dry and the book touches on quite dark themes. Katy is essentially writing about trauma, death, body image issues and a lot of sexist crap she has had to put up with in her life. So the subject matter isn't exactly a laugh a minute although she writes a lot of it with a sardonic wry smile. I also occasionally found it hard to connect emotionally with the writing. It was very matter of fact. While I was reading it I learned elsewhere that Katy is Autistic (that isn't mentioned in the book). I warmed to the writing a lot more, as that explained perhaps why I found her thought processes a bit different to mine. Anyway, as the book went on and I settled into the style I actually started to love it. In parts it is deeply moving, and some of the writing about death had me properly blubbing. It's an unusual book, definitely worth a read.

Spies - Michael Frayne Set during WW2, Stephen and best friend Keith, two friends who live in the same street, speculate on the mysterious comings and goings of the adults in their neighbourhood. Convinced that there are German spies in their midst, the two boys set about some investigations of their own. The only Michael Frayne I had read prior to this one was The Tin Men, a silly but clever comedy set in the near future. It couldn't be more different to Spies, which is much more literary and sober. I found it an engaging read, enjoying the charactarisation of both Stephen and Keith and that of the adults seen through their young eyes. There is plenty of suspense in this novel but the tension between what is real, as opposed to the children's interpretation of events, is the most interesting aspect. I enjoyed it.