~Andrea~

Hi VF! Good luck with the move. Hopefully you're moving somewhere less eventful!

Daphne Du Maurier short stories were favourites of mine. Strange and often with a hint of the supernatural or other-worldly.

Thanks Madeleine. I was thinking of tryng another one so I will give Sense and Sensibility a go.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Well this book surely needs no introduction, however... Mrs Bennett, the mother of five daughters (and no sons) is obsessed with finding a husband for each of them. You can't blame her really since the family estate is entailed on Mr Bennett's cousin, and as such she fears destitution for herself and her daughters in the event of her husband's demise. The story focuses on witty young Elizabeth Bennett and her potential suitor, the aloof Mr Darcy. We follow the family and the wider society of rural Hertfordshire through the ups and downs of nineteenth century love, courtship, money and manners, with a generous dose of Austen's witty social commentary thrown in. I didn't intend to read this! I was arranging some books on my bookshelf and I just happened to pick it up and have a peek at its famous opening line. Well, I got so drawn in that this became my unintentional read for April! I've never actually read this all the way through before. I think I got about half way through when I was about 17 and needed to read it for A Level. While I remember enjoying it, I think I had so much reading and other work to do that I ended up just relying on the notes for the second half! And since then I've never been bowled over by Austen. I've read Persuasion (in the last few years) and I think half of Emma (when I was a lot younger - but after my first attempt at P&P). I found Persuasion to be a pleasant read but it didn't blow me away. However this read of P & P was an absolute joy. I think it says something that I didn't even intend to read it, but the writing, the dialogue and the characters were all just so intantly engaging that I was hooked as soon as I glanced at the first page! I've read quite a few classics, and often find them to be a bit longwinded. They might be good overall but there are always those few pages (or chapters) where you just wish they'd had a good editor (cough Victor Hugo, cough)! However, this in some ways felt like a much more modern novel in that the writing was tight and lean, with no extraneous waffle, or description. Every word was there for a reason. I felt the characters sparkling from the page, and the story is constantly moving with plenty of little twist and turns to keep you on your toes. Of course the story was very familiar to me having seen so many adaptations (particularly the one with Colin Firth and Alison Steadman - which is surely the Queen of all P&P adaptations) so there were no surprises, but even so it was utterly absorbing and gripping. I came away understanding why this famous novel is so esteemed, it's an absolute masterpiece! I think it may actually gone to my number one spot. It was such a treat! I liked it by the way. Can you tell?

Hello Kevin and welcome to the forum I see you've been busy posting about the place so I'm sure our paths will cross sooner or later. Nice to meet you and I hope you enjoy it here.

Thanks Gaia! What a shame you can't get Locke & Key from your library!

Locke and Key: Head Games by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez From Amazon: Following a shocking death that dredges up memories of their father's murder, Kinsey and Tyler Locke are thrown into choppy emotional waters, and turn to their new friend, Zack Wells, for support, little suspecting Zack's dark secret. Meanwhile, six-year-old Bode Locke tries to puzzle out the secret of the head key, and Uncle Duncan is jarred into the past by a disturbingly familiar face. Open your mind — the head games are just getting started! This is the second book in this series and I enjoyed it much more than the first. It wasn't so graphically violent and there was some humour. The plot is developing more and I'm becoming intrigued by the various characters and the secrets from the past that have led to the strange situations that engulf the people of Lovecraft. Looking forward to reading the third one now.

Gentleman Jim by Raymond Briggs Jim is a toilet attendant, dissatisfied with his lot in life. He escapes into a world of fantasy and dreams of becoming so much more. I've been fancying some graphic novels lately but have no idea really what kind I would like so I picked this up from the library because I enjoyed Fungus the Bogeyman as a child and I've enjoyed some of his animations. This was typical Ray Briggs really, gentle and domestic and with a touch of humour and a hint of sadness. I thought it was OK. The story wasn't that complicated - and in terms of plot it felt more like a children's story but for adults in an odd kind of way. Vortex Butterflies by Nick Abadziz and Giorgia Sposito I got this Dr Who graphic novel from the library at the same time. While I found the story more interesting, it was also more forgettable and I don't think I'd bother with any more of these Dr Who ones. It was OK but I'm not really a die hard Whovian, even though I enjoy watching the TV show now and again so I guess they're just not my cuppa.

These are the first books I've read on the subject. They're just very quick starter guides. I've bought another, more in depth book on psychology (by the same author) but haven't started it yet. Have you read on the subject?

Hi Jaymer. Welcome to the forum. I need to start Game of Thrones. I have the first one on my shelf!

Introducing Psychology by Nigel Benson Introducing Psychotherapy by Nigel Benson and Borin Van Lon This year I've read a couple of novels with psychotherapy in them which I found a really interesting addition to the story. One was Nicci French's The Memory Game and the other was Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes. It got me thinking about psychology and therapy so I decided to read up on the subjects. I found both books really interesting, and the graphic format, with little illustrations and cartoons made them very accessible and enjoyable. The only thing I wasn't keen on was some of the cartoon figures in the psychotherapy guide where it was talking about anorexia were super thin and I thought insensitively drawn, which was a surprise in an otherwise helpful book on the subject. I get that the book and its illustrations are meant to be lighthearted but it just jarred a bit. Otherwise I enjoyed both books and skipped through them nicely.

The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit.

Thank you! I started it last night and so far so good!

Flowers for Algernon is a wonderful book, very poignant and as you say, beautifully told. I loved it.

I've been fancying reading some graphic novels lately (though I'm never sure which ones to go for as I don't know that much about them) so I picked up a few from the library. Whether I finish them all before they need to go back is another matter. I got: Gentleman Jim - Raymond Briggs Vortex Butterflies (a Dr Who one with David Tenant's doctor) Locke and Key book 2 - Joe Hill (I read the first one last year) And a Star Wars Clone wars collection of 6 stories.

High Hopes by Ronnie Corbett I've always been a big fan of Ronnie Corbett. I loved him in the Two Ronnies (especially the chair monologues) and in Sorry! He's always made me laugh and struck me as a nice chap so I was looking forward to reading this. The reviews on Amazon were a bit mixed though so I wasn't sure what to expect. Having read it I can understand some of the criticism. There are a LOT of anecdotes and name-dropping and I sometimes felt that he was talking more about other people than he was himself. The first half of the book focuses a lot on his early career in cabaret and vaudeville and there were so many people and anecdotes and incidents that I found my head spinning a bit. I think I'd have preferred a gentler, more flowing and personal narrative with some self-refection. I mean there is some of that but not as much as I would expect in an autobiography. Perhaps he is just not a particularly open person and prefers not to wear his heart on his sleeve. I enjoyed it more as it went on however and found the second half where he talks about The Two Ronnies and Sorry better somehow (whether it was that I'd settled into the book's style by then, or that he'd found his flow as an author, I can't say). He has a quite incredible memory for detail though and has led an interesting life in the theatre and he seemed very much to fit in with that show-business lifestyle. I enjoyed it overall, it made me chuckle in places and I found it a pleasant read.

Ooh fantastic! Nice to see your mojo is back in town. I too am doing a lot better this year than last year!

Hello and welcome to the forum

Great reviews Karen! Very interesting to hear your thoughts on Eleanor Oliphant. I haven't read it myself but have wanted to for some time. I will do some more research before I commit myself to it based on your review.

Ooh I love the Farseer (Assassins) trilogy. I don't know much about any of the others but I am a huge Robin Hobb fan. I would say Farseer ticks your boxes. There is plenty of magic, and a little romance too. They are great reads that kept me gripped all the way through. Also, if you like them, then there are other trilogies set in the same world to enjoy too.

I haven't read anything by this author so can't really help you, however the books do sound intriguing. But welcome to the forum anyway I hope someone here can offer some suggestions. Also,Take a look at the reading blogs section. You'll soon find plenty of books you want to read if you're anything like me.

Welcome Karen!! Lovely to have you here. Don't worry about your reading preferences being a poor fit. We are a varied bunch of readers and always have been. Also this has always been a very friendly forum and I've never encountered any book snobbery and I've been here 12 years or so. In fact the only thing that would be frowned upon here would be book snobbery I think! Good luck with the book cull! That's always a challenge.

I would defiitely recommend this book Hayley. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is proper grown up comic fiction - not twee at all. It really is a shame about the covers. Thanks Chrissy

Hello Melanie and welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy it here. What are your favourite books?

Thanks Gaia