~Andrea~

I do. Not heard of Emma Bombeck but I'm already sold on Betty McDonald. That sounds good too! This thread is becoming a dangerous place

I'm really fancying a bit of something spooky or a dark mystery this Autumn. I might dip into my Edgar Allen Poe short stories and I think I have a Susan Hill lying around somewhere.

I'd never heard of Betty McDonald but she sounds really interesting. I might have to read one of her books now!

Yes FC is quite a light read actually, more of a romantic adventure story so far.

Great review of Rebecca, Willoyd. I must must must read it soon, though from what you've said I'm assuming having seen the old black and white film will spoil it somewhat. I'm currently enjoying Du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek at the moment. I'd recommend My Cousin Rachel as another of hers you might enjoy: an intelligent and well written dark romantic drama with a touch of the thriller about it (without being overly thriller-ish).

Gemma Bovary by Posy Simmonds From Amazon: Gemma is your average girl-about-London. Dumped by her ambitious lover, she rebounds onto a safe bet, gentle furniture restorer Charles Bovery. But Charles comes with an ex-wife and children and Gemma baulks at being the unpaid baby-sitter. When money falls into her lap, Gemma flees London and drags Charles to Normandy, where she spices up her increasingly dull marital life with a bit on the side named Patrick Large. But then she dies, under mysterious circumstances. I read this when on a break from the previous read (The Well) while in post (minor) op recovery and it was the best medicine I could have asked for. I loved it. Great artwork, great writing, great characters, great plot and plenty of humour to boot. I think I'm rapidly becoming a Posy Simmonds megafan!

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!