Amy

Me too! I had to put on hold the other book that I was reading, as I couldn't wait any longer to read it. I couldn't find it in any of my local shops until Wednesday, and I had to finish it before I went to bed on Thursday. I loved the !

Sorry for confusing things by being called Amy! My PhD wasn't Du Maurier related. Helen Taylor also specialises in American literature and has written on Tennessee Williams - hence her being my supervisor as my PhD was on American drama and homosexuality. I actually bought it today, so I'll let you know if it is any good - although I don't know enough about Du Maurier to be too specific. It as a section on Du Maurier by people who knew her, a section of a few essays specifically on Rebecca and some essays on adapting her work for film, amongst other sections. There is also a rediscovered short story. I thought I might get it signed by her as a memento...

For any really big fans of Daphne Du Maurier our there, a book of essays has just been published called The Daphne Du Maurier Companion. I haven't had the chance to pick it up yet, but I am planning to (in fact, I think Amazon has had it on offer and hopefully still has). I have only read Rebecca, but I am hoping to find time to read more. I am mainly interested in this book because its editor - Helen Taylor - was my PhD supervisor. She was brilliant, so out of loyalty I am planning to get it and, because she has helped me so much, I thought it would be nice if I could give her a bit of a plug...!

I tend to visit the public library maybe a couple of times a week, whenever I think of something that I feel like looking up. I trained to be a librarian - I'm now lapsed - and I love the atmosphere of libraries. One of my clearest memories of late childhood is going into Plymouth - the nearest reasonable size city to my home town - on late night opening evenings. Dad would go to the reference part of the library, as he was doing family history research, and I would head for the ghost section and be fascinated and slightly scared by local ghost stories from Dartmoor. I have been a university student for a couple of years now, but I have nearly finished and I know that one thing I will really miss is the library. Public libraries are great - and the one in Exeter has a great drama and music section - but an academic library has even more scope for exploration..

I've loved Janet Evanovich's books for a few years ago - ever since doing a dissertation on feminist crime fiction and having her name suggested by a lecturer (for which I am very grateful to him). I was hooked from the moment in the first book when Grandma Mazur shot a chicken in the gumpy. I thought that I had read most of hers, although I still prefer her Stephanie Plum novels, and I was waiting eagerly for number 13. I even have Visions of Sugar Plums, but now I find that I am not as up to date as I thought - I've never heard of Plum Lovin'! Is it worth getting? And please don't tell my fiance, but I think that I would have a real problem if I had to choose between Ranger and Morelli....

Phew! Glad you liked it! The Jasper Ffordeness never occurred to me when I read it first, but I can see what you mean...

Now I feel responsible! Please don't blame me if you don't like it! I hope you do though......

I'd love to hear what you think when you get around to this one! I have read all of Malcolm Pryce's Aberystwyth books now (I can't remember off-hand if it is 3 or 4, and they are on my bookshelves at my parents' house). I went to university in Aberystwyth, so I love them for nostalgic reasons. Part of the fun is that they seem to show quite a perverse view of Aberystwyth that seemed quite different to what I remembered. I hope you enjoy it... By the way, your list is very impressive! My bookshelves seem almost sparse by comparison.