~Andrea~

The Well by Catherine Chanter Set in the near future in an England plagued by drought and with new emergency laws to prevent the misuse of water, this book tells the story of Ruth, living under house arrest at The Well, the idyllic farm she bought with her husband Mark. Only the dream life they planned together became a nightmare in which she lost everything, including her precious grandson Lucien, whose tragic death at the Well is still a mystery she is desperate to solve. This was an unusual kind of story, a dystopian, mystery thriller I guess. From the outset I was intrigued, though it started a little slowly. It's beautifully written and I was interested in the story as it slowly unfolded from the patchwork of Ruth's memories. I had a bit of a dip in the middle where I kind of lost my mojo with it and had to take a break, (however this was when recuperating from some minor hospital treatment so it may just have been I wasn't in the mood because of that) but I found I got quite engrossed in the second half of the book. Overall I enjoyed it, but I did find it at times relentlessly literary. The prose is crafted almost like poetry and it gave it quite a samey feel. I felt it could perhaps have done with some variation of style throughout to make it feel more dramatic and pacy. I'd recommend it though.

I've not long started Frenchman's Creek and I'm loving it so far. I've been meaning to read Rebecca for years but I think I'm going to get to it quite soon now.

Hello! Welcome to the forum! What kind of books do you read? My day is going well. I'm currently eating lunch. Which can only be a good thing

Oh I wasn't trying to shoo you away by sending you to another forum! I hope it didn't come across that way! You are most certainly very welcome here!! But that forum I linked to I found quite useful when I was writing, though I haven't been there for some years. There are some writers on this site though the writers' corner here is a little on the quiet side these days, although it may pick up with the new 'writing opportunities' thread. You are obviously welcome to join in there Even if you're not much of a reader there is plenty of general chat that goes on here too!

Hi Iain, Yes this is indeed a book readers forum, however there are a few of us with more than a passing interest in writing. Alternatively you may find a site like https://absolutewrite.com/forums more helpful. (I used to frequent it many moons ago.) But since many writers are often avid readers as well, perhaps you will like it here regardless. Welcome to the forum in any case

Yes this is me too! I prefer to chip in to a conversation rather than dominate it. I need a lot of space and I love living alone as I get to control how much 'people' time I have. I don't mind being in the spotlight now and again as long as it passes over me pretty quicky! Too much attention and I can feel the need to hide! Oddly most of my friends are fairly extrovert so I do tend to get on with extroverts quite well! Perhaps it works because there's less talking for me to do!! Even though I'm more of a listener than a talker I can find a lot of listening quite draining. Sometimes this is a problem when I'm with particularly chatty person and can't get a word in, I feel like it's information overload! I sometimes I find I'm such an introvert that I forget I do need company now and again and have to consciously stop myself from being a hermit! I don't think your vote registered as the poll is showing the forum to be 100% introvert at the moment

I've never read any Dan Brown, but I agree that sometimes you just can't beat a bit of Pulp Fiction. Looks like you're enjoying your reading lately Chrissy.

I've not long started reading The Well by Catherine Chanter and I have to say, so far it's great! It's an intelligently written psychological thriller type thing, and it's all very intriguing so far. The writing is really good so I'm hoping to rattle through it!

Ooh I'm being spoiled again by winning the July giveaway. A beautiful looking copy of A Christmas Carol which I shall enjoy later in the year and some very posh looking tea, which as a loose leaf girl I shall definitely enjoy! Thank you @Hayley

Thank you Gaia. I definitely would recommend Robin Hobb's other trilogies over this one.

Renegade's Magic by Robin Hobb Nevare Burvelle, a failed cadet of the military Academy, who enlisted in Gernia as a cemetery soldier under a different name has been accused of unspeakable crimes and forced to flee. The magic of the Specks which he has been trying to resist has finally taken him over, and he is compelled to work with the forest tribes and go against his own people. The final installment of this somewhat tedious trilogy is another tome of nearly 800 pages. Again, as I probably said with the first two, I've no idea why it needed to be so long. Perhaps she was under some kind of contractual obligation in book length, who knows? Anyway I would have been quite happy had this book been two or three hundred pages shorter. A case in point is when the story seemed to wrap up quite nicely (and I was very ready for it to end at that point) but no, there was another hundred pages, where she introduced a new problem/adventure for the protagonist to face which felt completely tacked on, and all this followed by a lot of long-winded wrapping up of things that felt very unnecessary and overdone. One of the golden rules of writing is "arrive late, leave early", and I wish the author had paid some heed to that, as the story really outstayed its welcome. And again the pacing was quite slow, with lots of detail of the mundane and every day and not enough action to liven things up. That said, I suppose something kept me reading. I was invested enough to see it through to the end, and being a Robin Hobb fan I'm glad I ploughed through it all, just to have a sense of completion of the Hobb canon. It's a shame though really, as there was potential for something decent here, it was just Far. Too. Long.

Oh this sounds right up my street. I might have to check it out!

Yes very readable. I'll definitely read her again. There was defintely a plot (of sorts) and I wanted to know what happened next, but it was more of a gently unfolding story that came out of the characters. I'd definitely recommend, Hayley. Yes it's all about character vs plot. For me reading is as much about spending time with interesting people as much as finding out what happens next. And I agree on the thrillers front. The characters are often very one-dimensional which makes those kind of books pretty forgettable for me.

Thanks for the info Hayley! Yes I agree with Poppy, you are very generous. I'd still prefer quarterly though. And it means less work for you.

Sorry this reply is soooo late!! I think the prizes so far have been great. Personally though, I think I would prefer them to be less frequent. There are only 6 supporters which means by the law of averages we'd be winning something about twice a year. That makes me feel like a decent chunk of my donation is going towards my own prizes, which feels a little odd to me! I'd be happier winning something less often and more of my donation going towards the site. So a seasonal competition would seem preferable to me. Also a prize would feel more special if there's less chance of winning it. Also I'd be happy for the giveaways to be open to non-donors. As others have said maybe there could be a mix of supporter and non-supporter giveaways, (so there is still an incentive to donate).

Back when we were grownups by Anne Tyler In her fifties, Rebecca Davitch sits up one day and wonders who she really is. Has life taken her down the path she really wanted to go along? Has it changed her into someone she can no longer recognize? A whirlwind romance in her twenties changed her path dramatically, but widowed by thirty with three young stepchildren and a daughter she was left to run her late husband's family business by herself. Now she wonders what might have been and starts to think about the man she was engaged to before she met her late husband. This was my first Anne Tyler, who I'd heard lots of good things about. While I found it took a little while to get into, once I did it was a pleasure to read. The prose is lovely, and while not a huge amount actually happens I somehow found myself turning the pages. It was a gentle, thoughtful read with engaging characters and lots of well drawn details and insights that made me feel I was right in the middle of the story and could recognize the interior life of the characters. I enjoyed it and would read more from this author.

Hi and welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear about your Dad and good luck with your books!

Great interview. Thanks Tim and Hayley! (Sorry it's taken me a while to read it - I haven't been on the forum much lately!) I found it really interesting, especially hearing about your struggles with mental health. And I also enjoyed your blog post http://www.timclarepoet.co.uk/3-weeks-in-the-life-of-a-new-book where you talk about the industry and the nitty gritty of making it (or trying to) as a writer. I shall definitely get hold of a copy of The Honours and give it a try. I love a good adventure yarn!

Hear hear! Welcome to the book blogs Poppy!

Hola ratpenat. Nice to have you here.

Hi and welcome! Your English is great by the way. What other languages do you speak?

Hello - a bit of a late reply from me! But welcome anyway

Hi and welcome!

I'll be on the hunt now for more graphic novels with female appeal. Thank you. The cover is great isn't it? I think it sums up the content pretty well actually. A grumpy old woman more used to a quiet life suddenly mixed up in a violent crime. That's interesting! I'd never heard of Lady Susan. I shall hunt it out, thanks Willoyd. And, S&S and Emma are both now on my hit list. I think A Level English has that effect for a lot of books. I don't think I could ever read a George Eliot for pleasure. Thanks Lau_Lau. I look forward to reading Lady Susan.

Cassandra Darke Millionaire art dealer Cassandra Darke is a crabby old recluse who doesn’t like people much. She’s been a bit naughty too and has a conviction for fraud, which she doesn’t think is that bad really, surely not worth all the trouble it resulted in. But when she finds some rather shocking items in her basement, left there by her lodger Nicki, she finds herself embroiled in a much darker and more serious criminal world. As you can see I’ve got the graphic novel bug. I don’t know why but lately I just fancied reading something in that format: drawings of people with speech bubbles. Perhaps I’m hankering after my youth, where I used to devour comics like Mandy and Nikki, or just looking for some lighter quicker reads! Anyway, I searched the library where most of them seemed to be in the genre of horror, fantasy or sci-fi. I tried a few, including a star wars and Dr Who one, but they didn’t really hit the spot. This probably sounds silly but the graphic novel section at the library felt overloaded with ‘boys comics’ where I wanted something with a bit more female appeal. So I had a brainwave and got hold of some Posy Simmonds! I really enjoyed this. It was exactly what I was looking for, an adventure with good strong female characters, just like the comics of my childhood! And the drawings are great too. I found the characters (excuse the pun) well drawn and interesting, and the writing witty and sharp. I shall be reading some more by this author. I just wish there were more graphic novels out there like this.