Kylie

“ON MONDAY THE THIRTEENTH OF MAY IN THE year 1876, between the hours of two and three in the afternoon on a day that combined the freshness of spring with the warmth of summer, numerous individuals in Moscow’s Alexander Gardens unexpectedly found themselves eyewitnesses to the perpetration of an outrage that flagrantly transgressed the bounds of common decency.” The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin I love the last part of that sentence.

Beautiful 'tangles, Kell! Thank you!!

Around 1 degree for the past couple of nights here, which is about as cold as it ever gets.

Interesting! Thanks for the info, Muggles. I can't wait to see the show, although it looks like we'll be waiting for a while.

Great work, Noll. Thank you!!

I've read The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures and A Wild Ride through the Night. I enjoyed them in that order. Bluebear is by far the best so far. I plan to read The City of Dreaming Books next. I have high hopes for it.

Doh. I even checked Wikipedia to make sure I got it right...it does say 'US and Soviet Union' detonate the bombs, but obviously not in their own or each other's country.

I hope you do! The worst episodes of Community are still great (IMO). And as I said, it gets even better.

Aw, I thought it was brilliant! The robots were based on 2001's monolith, so maybe that's why they were disappointing (I thought they looked pretty clunky, myself, but I appreciate them more knowing the 2001 link). Apt? Why? Were two nuclear bombs detonated in the US and Russia at the same time and I didn't hear about it? (Yeah, yeah, I know you lot *think* it's hot over there at the moment )

That's a fantastic paragraph from The Bone Clocks. I hadn't really been planning on reading it, but I'll keep it in mind now.

That's what my Mum was doing for me when I was 26. (That's the age I moved out of home.) Would it be totally boring if I said I don't see my life changing much in the next 10 years? But I'm OK with that. I have a job that I absolutely love because it allows me to work from home, spend time with my cat and have a fair amount of leisure time. The job itself is cool too. I'll be 43 and probably single—perhaps through choice, perhaps not. I'm pretty happy being single at the moment (except for the occasional moment like this morning, when I was trying to move a fridge by myself). The longer I live alone, the more I seem to like it, so I'll probably stay single. I'll have at least one more cat. Probably two. Preferably a calico cat and...dunno...maybe a black and white kitty. And I'll have a bunny. I should have paid off my mortgage by then, so I'll be a bit more financially secure. Actually, I have no intention of living where I currently am for another 10 years, and if I move it will be to a cheaper place, so hopefully my mortgage will be gone much sooner! I hope to be living in a more rural area in the next 10 years and planning (if not already built) a special library that's separate to my house (i.e., probably just a big shed ). If my mortgage is paid off, I'll actually have some disposable income (wow, foreign concept), so I'll be travelling overseas to visit my friends. My book collection will undoubtedly be larger, but hopefully not by much!

Something a bit different...the largest private piece of land on Earth is for sale...in Australia! 11 million hectares (apparently three-quarters the size of England) for $325 million. Bargain, right? I hope the land stays in Australian hands. Link.

Great lists everyone. I've decided to follow Athena and only list authors if I've read at least two books by them. That makes it considerably easier, as it turns out! Jane Austen Charles Dickens Vladimir Nabokov John Marsden Bill Bryson John Steinbeck George Orwell Walter Moers Mark Twain Roald Dahl JK Rowling *hopes no one notices that I listed 11*

I'm quite fond of the editions I have (UK Bloomsbury), but I love the last three sets in that link (especially Corley). The minimalist look is great!

Yikes! We've officially started the second half of the year! What bookish activity have you been up to? I finished Tales of Terror from the Black Ship by Chris Priestley yesterday. It was an excellent and creepy read. Last night/this morning, I started reading The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin. Looks like it's going to be great!

Only a couple off the top of my head. Harper Lee Go Set a Watchman Ransom Riggs Library of Souls

Does that mean it improved for you? You didn't seem to be enjoying it overly much before.

I'm watching the first couple of episodes of season 3 of Under the Dome. I think I mentioned recently that I never give up on TV shows...but that ends now. I feel like I'm watching a totally different show, and I have absolutely no idea what's going on! And it's not just me: there's a pretty amusing recap here. The author nails it. Part of his review reads: 'I haven't the foggiest about what actually happened in it. Are we even sure they showed the right episode? Was this a time-traveling episode from Season 13 that came from the future? There isn't a living human being who can properly explain what happened in these two hours, especially Stephen King, and anyone who claims they can is obviously a witch. If the creators of this show aren't in straitjackets by the time Episode 4 of this season airs then we need to call the police or just throw our hands in the air and jump off a cliff...Even before the episode started, it was painfully obvious that no one knew, nor did they care, about what's going on in this show and what happened in the previous two seasons'. Sums it up perfectly. I'm pretty forgiving of TV shows, but these episodes may redefine the meaning of 'jumping the shark'.

Hmm, I see what you mean, Noll, but I don't necessarily agree that it's pedantic. I think it's just sweet—we're finally reaching a time when we can all just say 'marriage' and not have to make distinctions because it will no longer be an issue. (It's also possibly the least offensive C&H cartoon I've ever seen. ) I'm not one to talk though, given my own government's stand on the issue. Haven't one or two of our forum members visited the Eden Project? Because they've recalled some very dangerous bead bracelets that they were unknowingly selling. Article here.

I finished The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld yesterday. I'm so proud of myself for reading it. I'd had it on my TBR pile since 2009 and I had nearly gotten rid of it quite a few times. Also, it's a trade paperback (which are generally too tall for my bookshelves), so I cursed it every time I had to reorganise my books. But I'm so glad I didn't give up on the idea of reading it. It was really good—much better and more readable than I was expecting. I ended up finding it very difficult putting it down! I've just realised there's a second book with the same characters, so I'll look out for a cheap (small) copy to read one day. I've nearly finished Tales of Terror from the Black Ship, but even though it wouldn't take me long to finish, I can't read it just now because I have a huge thesis that I need to finish editing by tomorrow, and I have a lot to do! I'm hoping to have a few days later this week to relax somewhat and get some reading done.

I hope you enjoy it! I read Rebecca earlier this year and was sorry I hadn't read it sooner. It was excellent! It has made my list of favourite books.

Protesting too much, I think!

I ended up watching Warm Bodies straight after I posted. Just as good as I remembered. I love the Romeo and Juliet parallels.

I really enjoyed it too. I must be due for a re-watch...

There's a thread here. It was just for the first book, but I've just changed the title so we can discuss all of the books there (which was already being done anyway). Thanks for answering my question Muggles.