~Andrea~

I've had Something Wicked This Way Comes on my wish list for years now and having recently read The Martian Chronicles I'm feeling very keen to get it. I've also added Farenheit 451 thanks to your review

I listened to that on audio last year (abridged unfortunately) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

Ah that's a great read. I keep meaning to read more Philip K Dick.

Hi Paula. Hope you enjoy the film when you get round to seeing it. I thought it was really good, but I hadn't read the book. I'd be interested in hearing how the two compare.

I loved Tess. I read it years ago (for school in fact) and of all the dry and dusty texts I had to read, this one stood out as being very vivid and gripping. I'm a bit of a Hardy fan these days.

Started listening to Grahame Greene's Brighon Rock read by Richard Brown today. I must say I'm not much impressed with the narration so far.

Thanks Poppy. I find the interface between science and religion a fascinating subject. I look forward to reading more Polkinghorne having read this.

I have now started More than Matter by Keith Ward

Last night I finished 'Questions of Truth: Fifty-one Responses to Questions About God, Science and Belief' by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale. From the forward: Cambridge academic eyebrows were raised in 1979 when the distinguished quantum physicist Professor John Polkinghorne resigned from his chair in order to start training as an Anglican priest. Since then he has become well known for a series of books on science and religion. Although not personally online his ideas have generated worldwide interest and discussion on the internet through a Web site set up and managed by Nicholas Beale, his onetime mathematical student at Trinity College and long-standing friend and colleague. This book is a compilation of some of the responses that can be found on that website. I found it very interesting and readable. Most interesting to me were some of the responses to Richard Dawkins claims in The God Delusion, particularly where he ventures into cosmology and physics, but the whole book was very interesting. I did find that not all of the questions were answered to my satisfaction but on the whole it was pretty good.

Yay - thanks for starting a thread Poppy. I love it so far! Looking forward to reading more

seconded

Finished The Martian Chronicles last night. It was very good. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first, I found the writing style quite clipped, but once I'd got used to that I really liked it. It's more of a series of chronological short stories than a novel, and I'd say it's classic sci fi, where the ideas are more important than deep characterisation. A slightly unusual read, which I found quite refreshing. Some of the stories were actually very poignant and I think I'll miss dipping into this unusual world of an evening.

I'm glad you enjoyed Mister God This is Anna. It's a wonderful little book.

I've started reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. So far it's quite readable, but a little strange. The martian world is very alien and I'm finding it difficult to visualise either the setting or the characters.

silver birches by Adrian Plass From Amazon: When David Herrick receives an invitation to a reunion from a long-forgotten acquaintance, his first reaction is to refuse. He isn't feeling very sociable since his wife, Jessica, died six months ago. But the invitation comes from Angela, one of his wife's oldest friends---and mysteriously, she has something for him from his beloved Jessica. Reluctant but curious, he visits Headly Manor. When the friends gather, they no longer resemble the fresh-faced group of twenty years ago. One has been deserted by her husband, another has lost his faith, and another is filled with anger and bitterness. As they have less than forty-eight hours with each other, they decide to be vulnerable and bear their souls. This poignant and moving story blends Adrian Plass's rich style of writing with his knack for addressing the deep issues we all face, such as faith, grief, love ... and fear. Review: I've read stuff by Adrian Plass in the past, but not for a while. This novel was recommended to me recently, and while I enjoyed it on the whole, I do think it is aimed more at the christian market and non-christians, or more probably a non-evangelicals, might not find it that accessible. This disappointed me as I like to read fiction that is accessible to everyone. I also found the soul-bearing nature of the weekend a little odd. The weekend was organised by Angela who planned lots of 'opening-up' sessions which I found a little unrealistic. The story deals with problems and issues found within church, particularly evangelical church, such as attitides to homosexuality for example. In that respect I welcome a book like this, as it is addressing issues faced by real people, but it does give the book a rather niche appeal. I think Adrian Plass is a very good writer and I would love to see him branch out in to more mainstream fiction. However the story was enjoyable and it also contains one of the creepiest ghost stories I have ever read, which is always good

That's what I had to have yesterday after reading your post

I finished Assassin's Quest last night. What a great book, and what a great trilogy. Although I will say that while the first half of the book was truly gripping, with events unleashing at a cracking pace, the second half was a lot slower, still enjoyable but I found I missed the pacy ride of the first half. Things picked up for the finale though, which was very satisfying I would highly recommend this series to anyone, whether you like fantasy or not (this was my first real taste of fantasy apart from Harry Potter and the Hobbit). The characters are great and the story really interesting and gripping.

I thought the battles were great and I agree about Ruth Brown's voice. She's amazing.

Ooh, that should probably be spoilered. Not sure if you can edit your posts yet though. And welcome

Yes please, I missed the last one.

Hi Andie I read the magic cottage a couple of years ago. I thought it was quite good, but yes the ending was a bit weak and far too drawn out. I just wanted it to wrap up already I like the sound of The Haunted.

Hi and welcome

I would definitely be interested in buying this. Not sure about the hardback though - I'd probably wait until the paperback came out tbh. If I do decide to get an e-book reader I may be prepared to pay the e-book price.

Ah - I've just put two and two together Have fun reviewing your books you two Yea what she said!!!

LOVE your Frankenstein review Poppy (a book I thoroughly hated) . Totally agree with all you've said. I'm just amazed you still gave it a 6!!