angerball

A great list of books! Good variety there.

^Will do for sure! Sounds yummy!

I don't think I've ever had goat cheese! Is it similar to feta cheese (which is yet another cheese I love)? I'll have to keep an eye out for it next time I go grocery shopping.

Loads. Too many to count really. My problem is that even though I have a lot of books on my bookshelf, I still borrow or buy others to read. I can't help it though; if I see something that looks interesting, I have to have it, even though I may not get around to reading it for a very long time. I mean I have books that I bought about 7 or 8 years ago, and have yet to read them.

Thanks Angel. It's one I'll definitely pick up. It looks like just my thing.

I'd love to read this one. I've seen it so many times in shops and at the library, and I always pick it up, but end up putting it back. It looks rather heavy and hard to read, but after reading some comments here, I think I'll give it a go.

I'm another cheese lover! I love most kinds, but especially the smoked cheeses. I also love Blue cheese, Camembert, and Brie. Oh, cottage cheese is nice as well. I like it on some cracker bread with smoked salmon. To die for!

I visit my local library quite frequently, sometimes several times a week. Even though I have a ton of books on my TBR list, I just love browsing through other books at the library.

The only one I can recall off the top of my head is Watership Down getting a mention in Stephen King's The Stand.

Good news! I'd love for her to win! She's the only author on the nominee list whose books I have read.

I have to second your recommendation of The Stand. It is such a fantastic book, not strictly horror either (for those who are put off by the genre). It is such a good book; I've read it several times, and it's a great starter for those getting into Stephen King. Some may disagree with me here, but I thought the mini-series was great too (Gary Sinise as Stu Redman....).

Here are my Top Ten. It's actually a lot harder than I thought to come up with 10. I had a lot more on my list, but these are the ones I have narrowed it down to. 1. The Stand - Stephen King (it will always be my number 1! ) 2. Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood 3. Out - Natsuo Kirino 4. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett 5. IT - Stephen King 6. Wizard and Glass - Stephen King 7. The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M Auel 8. Microserfs - Douglas Coupland 9. The Life of Pi - Yann Martel 10. Small Island - Andrea Levy

Hiya, and welcome to the forum. I'll have a think of what my Top Ten novels are and will post back later.

I think you should dive right in. It's a great series that will really drag you into the story. I have to admit, I preferred the early books, and was a bit disappointed in the last few that he published (though I absolutely loved the ending). My favourite is Wizard and Glass. Such a sweet story.

I'm not much of a gardener (not having much of garden space ); however about a week ago, I planted some chives, coriander, and parsley! Finally, yesterday I spotted some green bits poking up from the soil of the chive pot! I don't know what's happening with the coriander or parsley though. I've been leaving them outside (as it's been quite mild), so maybe that has been the problem. Anyway, yesterday I took the remainder of the seeds, and did some more planting and put them in a little greenhouse. Hopefully they will grow. When we finally get a bigger garden, I'd love to grow my own herbs and veggies, and fruit if possible. Not so keen on having shrubs or flowers, but I love the idea of a veggie patch.

Bookmarks for me too. I never dog-ear a page! My library usually has a stack of free bookmarks - though they haven't done that in a while. A while ago, I was looking for a metal bookmark (or hookmark, I think they are called). There are some very nice looking ones out there, but they are so expensive. Maybe some day I'll get around to getting one.

Thanks for letting us know. I'll keep an eye out for it for sure.

Dead Poet's Society, Dogfight, and American History X. There's loads more, but those are the only ones I can think of at the moment. madcow, I also cried in Top Gun when Goose died.

I'd like to get more into historical fiction. I haven't read that much of it, but what I have read I've really enjoyed. I loved the Earth's Children series (but I haven't got around to reading the latest ). It was one of the first "adult" (no, I don't mean the sex scenes ) books I read, and I absolutely loved it. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet is another great historical novel - an absolute must read for anyone into the genre. How about James Michener? I think he writes historical fiction. I tried one of his books (Chesapeake), but couldn't stick with it, although I have heard very positive things about him.

I like True Crime. I did go off it for a few years after I read about the Black Dahlia case, but I'm back into it again. I like anything by John Douglas - he wrote Mindhunter, a brilliant read. The best True Crime book I have read was Helter Skelter, about the Manson family. Scary stuff! Kitty, I think I've read that Ed Gein book. Is it called Depraved? He was one sick puppy.

The last time I had Indian, I ordered Tandoori Chicken with Madras sauce. Of course, I didn't realise Madras was lamb, and I hate lamb. I didn't want to make a fuss, so I sat there and had my lamb sauce. Ick!

I'm glad to see that there are quite a few people out there who like Natsuo Kirino. She's one of those authors I feel so lucky to have found. I picked up Out on a whim, never expecting to enjoy it so much. Hopefully they will translate more of her other work in the future.

I agree - I thought it was a great read. Very powerful, especially the childhood years.

Alias Grace is my favourite Atwood book. I don't think I've read an Atwood book that I didn't enjoy.

My favourite foreign foods would probably have to be Thai (Laab Gai, and Pad Thai!) and Chinese. But I think it also depends where you eat it. I've had Chinese food in Holland, and it tastes completely different - quite bland. Similarly, I've had Indian food in the UK, and it tastes completely different from Indian in Australia. I like sushi as well, but only when it's made properly. Mexican food is scrummy as well.