angerball

War of the Roses

A Perfect World

My hobbies - other than reading - are surfing the net, playing video games (how old am I? ), taking photos, driving (not really a hobby, but it's something I enjoy), and some very limited amateur astronomy (once I bring my telescope over here, I hope to be able to dedicate more time to it).

I just finished A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. That was my chunker for June.

I just finished this book; what a gem it was! Loved the short chapters, and the detailed little stories about each characters lives. As I kept reading it, I was just dying for the moment when Took a while to get to it, but it was well worth the wait. I really dig Mark Haddon's writing style; little sentences that can hold so much weight, and speak volumes. Bagpuss, I know what you mean about that chapter that made you feel a wee bit queasy. I had to read through it really quickly. There were so many characters in this book, all flawed, and who had done some very silly things, yet all very lovable in their own way - Everyone was just so....human and inperfect! It was great. I'd recommend this one to anyone who loves a funny, deep, and well-told story. I eagerly await Mark Haddon's future novels. Right....onto An Instance of the Fingerpost now!

Hey, there's photo of Richard E Grant at your book club!

I'm a fan of Small Island as well. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it half as much as I did, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Of course, I've pretty much forgotten most of it by now (), but I do remember being very impressed by it.

Good review. Sounds like an interesting read, and another one to add to my TBR list.

You took the words right out of my mouth, maclsj. I wouldn't specifically read or not read a book simply because it was a Richard & Judy book; I'd pick it up and read the blurb on the back to see if it was my kind of book, though the sticker would probably catch my attention. I just had a flick through the Richard & Judy website, to see their previous recommendations, and out of them, I have read and enjoyed The Lovely Bones, The Time Traveler's Wife, My Sister's Keeper,and The Interpretation of Murder. I've also read The Historian, which I loved initally, but towards the end, I just found myself losing interest, and wanting it to finish so I could move on to something else. They actually seem to have a quite wide range of books, so I think for most people there will be a lot of hit-and-misses. I can't see myself reading all of the 2007 Summer Read books, but the following are ones I'd give a go: The Memory Keeper's Daughter (that one looks quite painful), The House at Riverton, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and The Savage Garden.

I have a PDA, which I bought specifically for e-books, but to date I have only read one book on it (Black Beauty). I have downloaded a lot more to read on there, but the books I keep borrowing from the library get in the way of it. I found it quite easy to read on my PDA (depending on the format; for me PDF is a no go). The thing about reading on a PDA that appeals to me, is that you can bookmark certain pages or make notes on a particular page, which could be useful if you want to come back to something. Of course, you can do that on a paper book as well, but I think it's easier to find and less messy in an e-book. Another good point about reading on a PDA, is that if you like to read several books at once, it's a compact way of carrying them all around with you. I don't think I could read on my laptop though, as I too like to lounge on the sofa when I read, and hold my book in my hand. Plus, I'd find the pages too big on a laptop. I need to underline the line I'm reading or I tend to skip ahead, so that's easier to do on a PDA than a laptop. The downside of reading recent-releases as an e-book, is the outrageous cost of them. I've never bought an e-book (I download the free ones), as the cost of them is so high compared to a paper book. If I'm paying that much money for a book, I want to be able to feel the actual book in my hands, otherwise I feel like I've been cheated.

Odd that so many libraries close on Wednesday at noon, or all day. I wonder if that's an English thing - is there some kind of tradition/story behind that? I don't recall any Australian libraries that close early on one day of the week. My local library closes at noon on a Wednesday too, but the library one town over (in the same local group of libraries) is open all day Wednesday, and closes at noon on Thursday. So it's not too bad - if I feel the urge to go to the library, I can always find one open.

Hiya Jean! Welcome to the forum.

Hiya Roger, and welcome to the forum. I'm an ex-Sydneysider myself.

Well, I've struggled to think of a book that has made me cry, and I can't think of any. I don't generally cry over books, but I do over movies. Having said that, I do recall getting upset over several books - The Lovely Bones, Watership Down and The Kite Runner spring to mind.

Hmmm, that's the second great review I've read on Michael Faber. Definitely one to add to my TBR pile, methinks.

Actually, this makes me think of Campbell Armstrong's books. I got into them about 10 years ago, but after reading about 3 of them, I realized that in all of them . Well, talk about off-putting; I haven't been able to read any of his books since, because I know that the exact same thing will happen. That's the kind of predictability that will put me off. It's odd though - I'll still generally read any straight forward "good vs evil" book, even though I can guess in the end that the good guys win. Go figure!

How about Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks? It was recommmended to me by a woman I worked with. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but given that it has gotten a lot of good reviews, I'm thinking of revisiting it.

Hiya, Littlelijah! Welcome to the forum.

I've read several books (such as crime/thrillers) in which I know the good guys always win, but that doesn't detract from my enjoyment; often there is a pretty good story between the beginning and the end. I don't know what to suggest, Michelle. Perhaps you are just in a slump at the moment?

I avoid romance, fantasy and westerns. I know I won't enjoy them, so I don't bother.

I can't think of any specific titles, but I know there have been several that I can't get into at that time, but have read and enjoyed them months later. If it's a book that I put down because it bores the heck out of me, or I dislike it, then I won't ever pick it up again. However sometimes I read a book, that I know is my kind of book, but for some reason I'm just not into it. Those are the ones that I know I will come back to at some point.

Yep, you pretty much summed up Virginia Andrews there. But sometimes....the person she fanices is her brother (ie. Flowers in the Attic - or one of it's sequels).

I can't think of any instances where I have read a book that is very predictable. I'm not all that great at guessing endings, so that's probably why. I do like a book to be original in some sense, even if it's just the writing style, but I can't think of a book where I have known straight away where it was headed. Do you prefer books with twists at the end? Or are you just looking for something where the story (not necessarily the plot, but the way it is written) will take you by surprise?

I don't have a problem with Crime/Thrillers, provided they are well written. I find them to be quite easy reads (as long as there aren't too many improbable plot twists), as well as being entertaining.

Hullo, Sarah! Welcome to the forum!