Kylie

The only book I've awarded 10/10 so far is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It was a real stand-out! Half a dozen others also really hit the mark for me (9/10), including the second and third books in Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Humans by Matt Haig, Ripley Under Ground by Patricia Highsmith and The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. The lowest-ranked book for me so far is Haruki Murakami's Underground. Fascinating subject matter, but very poorly delivered. I rated it 6/10. All told, I've had a pretty good reading year so far! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's replies.

Can you believe we're nearly halfway through the year already?! Crikey! That means it must be time to roll out this annual thread... What are the best books you've read so far? Have there been any clunkers?

I'm planning on reading the second book in the series soon. Flavia is delightful, isn't she?! If you have three days to download a book, is that included in the amount of time you have to read it? Or do have a certain amount of time to read it after you download it? (Does that question even make sense? )

Uh oh...

We're related!

I haven't looked too much into the pricing...too scared! I'd also be worried about ordering the wrong size. It's not like one could easily return it! Me too! I have to say, I think I like most of them more than the ones sold by Spineless Classics. (Although I do love my Alice in Wonderland poster that my brother bought me from there.) There are different colour options available, and I just noticed that you can buy them as 'wall clings', which appear to work like decals, except they can be reused (so rather than going to the cost of framing it, you can simply stick it straight onto the wall). I love it!

I've read about half of Tales of Terror from the Black Ship and a few more chapters of The Interpretation of Murder. Both are going well.

Ooh, I just found an online shop call Litographs that prints the full text of various books on t-shirts, posters and tote bags. They also appear to have temporary tattoos (the only type I'd ever get ). Their stuff looks great!

This is my absolute dream job!! In fact, I've half-seriously considered setting up a basic website offering my services on the off-chance that someone would hire me.

'You hit a deer?!' 'No! I got hit by a deer!'

I've just noticed that iTunes finally has the first three seasons available in HD! Yay! Coincidentally, yesterday I received a $100 voucher for filling in surveys online (I've been doing it for years). One of the vouchers available is for iTunes, so now I can basically buy the seasons for free! I downloaded the first ep already and just compared the quality to my DVD version, and it's soooo much better! The colours are brighter and crisper, and it's in widescreen, so I can see more stuff than I previously could. I even paused it to check out a sign as Lorelai walks through the town in the opening scene, and I could easily read it in the HD version, but couldn't make it out at all in my old version! I'm so stoked.

This was the first book I picked out of my book jar this year...and I'm still only about 60 pages in! It's a good read, but I keep needing lighter books to read alongside it, and then I get absorbed in them and forget about GG&S. I started reading Chris Priestley's Tales of Terror from the Black Ship last night. I've been looking forward to this for ages!

Some people didn't enjoy the past couple of seasons (I did, though), but I think the most recent season has been particularly good. The season finale in particular was awesome. I really hope it gets renewed for another season! Me too! What a coincidence. I'd seen a few episodes here and there and enjoyed them, but I couldn't work out the overall storyline (like, her husband always seemed to be campaigning—I always thought it was for one thing, but now I realise there were different campaigns). Late last year I finally sat down and binge-watched all of the seasons until I was up to date.

Yay! Another Community fan. It's so bloomin' wonderful, isn't it? I don't think it gets the attention it deserves. I've really missed Troy since he left. I think Abed is one of the greatest TV characters ever created. I also really love The Good Wife.

I'm pleased you're a fan, Echo. I think the show is rather under-rated over here. I've only read the first book so far, and I really liked it. I have most of the books on my TBR pile, so I really should start the next one, especially because I've lately been in a mood to read these types of mysteries (like Alan Bradley, Ben Aaronovitch, MRC Kasasian).

I guess I can understand why viewers might stop watching, but I really loved season 5 and will definitely keep watching. My friend, who would usually love this type of show, refuses to even start watching it because he doesn't want to get attached to characters who then die.

Ah, that probably explains it. I'm not a fan of Shia Lebouf at all. In fact, the same ex that made me watch Holes took me to the movies to see the second Transformers movie. If I thought Holes was bad, it had nothing on T2. So maybe it was that particular actor who was putting me off in Holes too.

Totally agree. If they were actually 'reaction Tweeting', then they obviously love attention...which they wouldn't get if they stopped watching the show! I've just finished watching the season. I had only watched the first episode, so I just watched episodes 2-10 one after another, with a short break to go shopping. Immediately afterwards I went online to read all of the articles and stuff I'd been avoiding. From all accounts, it appears to be one of the most-watched episodes of GoT ever, and it appears that most people think that , so those viewers will most definitely be back. There have been so many deaths, what difference does one more make, really? I don't think I've ever 'walked away' from a TV show in my life. If I latch onto something, I'm in it for the long haul. I couldn't imagine not watching it to the end, even if some episodes (or even seasons) of a show are not as good as others. My curiosity would definitely get the better of me! Now I have to go back through this thread to find out why you abandoned it (the show, not the thread)... ETA: OK, you haven't actually mentioned any problems with GoT in this thread. In fact, you seemed to be really enjoying season 4...so why did you stop watching? Something to do with the books?

Wouldn't it be weird if someone did actually get poisoned?

I've decided not to continue on with it. It didn't really grab me, and there are so many other shows I want to watch that it's not worth my time. I'm catching up on Game of Thrones now. Up to episode 7.

I agree with both of your spoilers. Orange is the New Black is basically about a women's prison and the characters there. I won't say anything else because it's best if you discover it all for yourself. It's really well acted and very entertaining. I hope you enjoy it! I'm currently watching the latest episode of Masterchef Australia, and then I might get back into Game of Thrones.

I've been trying to bite my tongue about Holes, but since you've gone and said what I was thinking...I hated the movie. An ex tried to make me watch it once because he really loved it. I lasted about two minutes before I decided it was one of the worst things I'd ever seen. Perhaps I wasn't being fair though...I came into it somewhere in the middle. I just remember kids digging holes in a desert or something. And bad acting. I will never be able to bring myself to try the book, even despite Frankie's 5/5 rating.

Ooh, tough choice! I loved the former, and from everything I've read, the latter is great as well. I had a good day of reading yesterday and I'm now three-quarters of the way through The Curse of the House of Foskett. Hoping to finish it in the next day or two.

Another problem I have is my working/sleeping hours. I don't have a typical 9-5 day. I just sleep when I need to and then wake up and work/do stuff. So sometimes, like the other day, I went to bed as the sun rose and woke up as it was setting. Makes it even more difficult to go out and exercise. I certainly wouldn't go out after dark. I was thinking of joining a 24-hour gym, but I've learnt that they're not even staffed at night. You just use a card to get in. I thought there would be one or two staff members at least. I wouldn't feel comfortable at all going into a gym at 2-3 am when there is no one around to look out for me. I bought a thing for my bike a while ago that allows me to use my bike inside as a stationary bike. I think I'll bring my bike in and do that. I have no idea how to set it up, but I'll work it out! I won't even have to worry about getting dirt on my carpet or anything, because I'm planning on getting new flooring put in soon.

Great list, Echo! I see a lot of books there that I really loved (and just two I really didn't ). I'm so pleased to see you around here again.