angerball

I've just started this book. It's very early on still (just past page 50), but it's looking good so far.

^ That's one movie I've yet to see!

Thanks, Carm! I'm originally from Australia, and came to the UK 2 years ago on a working visa. Now that I'm here for good, I'm really just going back to pack up my things to ship to the UK, and to also do some catching up with family and friends.

Just finished this book. I loved it, even though I'm not usually a fan of fantasy books. I found it very easy to read, which is not always the case (in my case, at least!) with fantasy books. They just seem to drag on forever, and never really go anywhere. This one was very fast paced, with lots of action happening - it was an nice, uncomplicated read. I was very surprised to hear that the author started writing this book when he was only 15!! Very impressive, indeed! I look forward to reading Eldest, though it will probably be a while until I get around to it.

Hiya Anne, to the forum!

The only thing I watch regularly at the moment is Road Wars. I'm addicted to that show. Otherwise, I usually watch The Apprentice, Desperate Housewives, and Law and Order: SVU when they are on.

Yeah, I am heading in the Crimson Petal direction, as I've yet to read a bad review of that book! Everyone raves about it! I think I will start it a few days before I head off, so if I'm not into it, I can take another one instead. It's right up the top of my TBR pile anyway.

I'm going to Australia for about a month in September, and I'm really struggling with what book to take on the plane with me. At the moment I'm going with either The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, or The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. I haven't read either of those books, and I'm a bit wary about being stuck on a 32 hour plane flight (includes two 7 hour layovers) with books I'm not sure I'll enjoy. Also, both books are quite big, and I'll be carrying enough rubbish with me that maybe I'd be better off settling for something lighter? :thud:Also, I'm super fidgety and easily distracted on planes, so I need a book that will really reel me in. Not too stuck for choice when I get to Australia though. I have about five or six archive boxes there, full of books to read - which I'll be bringing back to the UK with me (I've warned hubby! ).

I used to have that problem when I constantly bought books. I'd really struggle to decide which ones to read, and would sometime read the first few pages of 5 or 6 different books before settling on one. Now that I mostly read library books, it's not so hard to choose. I know that I have to read them before the due date, so it helps me choose. I haven't really gone through a phase of not feeling like reading at all. I do find it hard to sit still and read for long periods of time (something always distracts me), but I always do have a book on the go.

You're welcome!

A few I have in my favourites, though I have never used them: UK Bookworld Alibris Bookfinder Booklovers Jonkers Rarebooks Stortbooks The Antique Map and Bookshop Biblio.com Pilgrim City Books Hope these are of some use to you.

Hiya Marbles, to the forum! Love your avatar - is that your dog?

Hi Margaret, and to the forum!

Hiya Ratna, to the forum.

Hiya Steve, to the forum!

American Beauty

I have this one out from the library, and will be reading it shortly. The only other Jodi Picoult book I've read is My Sister's Keeper and I quite enjoyed it.

I remember them!! My mum tells me that when I was a child, I used to read the Spot books over and over and over.

I think it depends on the size of the book, and the story. I don't mind reading a book filled with a lot of characters, as long as they are quite different from each other and easy to keep track of. I can't recall too many books I have read that have far too many characters. Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton has quite a few characters, many who pop up once and then disappear for several (long) chapters; that wasn't too hard to keep track of though, as all the characters were listed at the front of the book, so I could flip back if I didn't remember who was who. Also, the names of the characters are important in how easy they are to remember. If it's foreign names, I get utterly confused. When I read Crime and Punishment a few years ago, I got so confused that I had to start over and then keep a written list of all characters and a brief description. Otherwise I would have got completely lost.

Hiya Kasei, to the board.

Yep, I'd love to give it another try. It's such a work of art, I'll have to get through to the end.

Thanks for clarifying, Michelle. I thought that was the case, but since it was never baldly stated, I wasn't sure. I was quite surprised at how young Maggie O'Farrell is. I was just reading about her in the Featured Author section, and she said After You'd Gone was her mid-twenties book, while this one was her mid-thirties book. I'll be interested to see if there is a great difference in writing style. Edit:

Just finished this book - wow, I loved it. It's the first Maggie O'Farrell book I have read, but I am now on a mission to track down and read her others. I know my library has After You'd Gone, so I'm looking forward to picking that up. I recently commented on a thread in General Discussions about books that make you cry, that I hadn't really come across one that did. This one comes as close as I can imagine a book could come to making me cry. How utterly tragic was this story? I'm not very good at guessing which way a story goes, so I was quite surprised by everything that happened. Like others here, I too thought that As silly as it sounds, I never connected Kitty's interspersed narrative with her dementia (); I just took it as the style in which the book was written. I loved the way Kitty's thoughts would just pop up in the book, and kind of trail off. They left tantalising parts of the story just hanging there, and really had me wondering what had happened in the past. Once it was revealed, I didn't hate Kitty for what she did. I think she was too young to know the consequences of her actions, and by the time she did realise what she had done, she had managed to distance herself and put it behind her to the extent that it was just easy for her to ignore, and move on. Can someone clarify the ending for me? I'm not too good at reading hints, and need it said in black and white (otherwise I end up wondering if I've misinterpreted it!). That's the impression I got, though I had to re-read the last page several times to get it. Another thing that I'm wondering about; what was Esme so desperately looking for in her little tin box of possessions, when Iris came to take her away? Esme says it's "A length of...cloth, green...maybe wool." Any idea what this is? I was hoping this would be resolved by the end of the book, because it seemed important, but if it was, I missed it. Aside from a fabulous story, I thought the book was so well-written. Very detailed and descriptive, but without being overly wordy. I will definitely be re-reading this one, and it has shot up to the top of my "Favourite books of all time" list.

This is one I'd love to read, once I get through my current stash. It sounds very moving.

I've got this one at home, but just couldn't get through it. I picked it up, simply because of the text layout, and thought it would be a great read. However, it just got too confusing for me, trying to follow all the different bits of the book (how a notation [i think that's the right word - but I've gone blank!!] would go on for a few pages, and then I'd have to flip back to pick up the main thread of the story. It definitely is an ambitious 'project' by the author though, and I certainly admire the effort that must have gone into the book.