aromaannie

I know exactly the bit you're talking about with the snake. I read the book years ago and that part has stuck firmly in my memory. I read all his books and I don't remember anything quite as vile in the rest of his books. I would recommend trying to read any of his 'series' books in order though as it will help with your understanding of the characters.

Boy A - Jonathan Trigell 'Jack has spent most of his life in juvenile institutions, to be released with a new name, new job, new life. At 24, he is utterly innocent of the world, yet guilty of a monstrous childhood crime.To his new friends, he is a good guy with occasional flashes of unexpected violence. To his new girlfriend, he is strangely inexperienced and unreachable. To his case worker, he's a victim of the system and of media-driven hysteria. And to himself, Jack is on permanent trial: can he really start from scratch, forget the past, become someone else? Is a new name enough? Can Jack ever truly connect with his new friends while hiding a monstrous secret? This book was made into a film for channel 4 recently and I meant to watch it but forgot so I decided to buy the book instead. The story flits between Jack's childhood and at 24 his release from prison and his attempt to fit back into society. I really enjoyed the writing style and at 248 pages it's easy to zip through this book but it will leave you thinking about it. 8.5/10 Books read this year = 22

Somebody Else's Kids by Torey Hayden NON FICTION They were all just "somebody else's kids" - four problem children placed in Torey Hayden's class because nobody knew what else to do with them. They were a motley group of kids in great pain: a small boy who echoed other people's words and repeated weather forecasts; a beautiful seven-year-old girl brain damaged by savage parental beatings; an angry ten-year-old who had watched his stepmother murder his father; a shy twelve-year-old who had been cast out of Catholic school when she became pregnant. I love TH's books as they always fill me with such a huge range of emotions. 8/10 Books read this year = 21

She's one of my favourite authors - hope you enjoy it:)

Fear by Jeff Abbott This is another author that I tend to buy everything he writes after reading his book Panic that I really enjoyed. This didn't quite live up to Panic but was still an enjoyable read. I did get the characters mixed up at times as they appear to be changing sides all the time. I felt at points I didn't really know what was going on (a bit like watching the last series of Spooks) but it didn't matter to much. Definately a fast paced thriller with lots of twists and turns. 8/10 Books read this year = 20

Call Girl by Jenny Angell NON FICTION Professor by day, callgirl by night - a true story Jenny is left penniless by an ex-boyfriend and, in order to make ends meet, she finds herself juggling two lives - respected college-lecturer by day and $200-an-hour high class callgirl 'Tia' by night. I found this book a bit like a paperback version of Pretty Woman. It made the life of a call girl sound as if it wasn't that bad - plenty of money and most clients are very nice people. The author never really describes how her job makes her feel and it felt very impersonal. I also found her many descriptions of her college lecturers quite boring, after all I bought this book to read about a call girl not what her latest lecture's content is! I have since done a bit of research and when the author apperared on Oprah she was confronted that she wasn't a professor but a high school French teacher. She admitted this to be true and said she had originally written the book as a work of fiction based on her life but her publishers felt it would work better as an autobiography. She had decided to keep the part about her being a lecturerer to protect other peoples identity. This has made me wonder how much else of the book is not entirely truthfull. 7.5/10 Books read this year = 19

Hide - Lisa Gardner LG is another one of my favourite authors and I always buy everything she writes. This is her 2nd book featuring the character Bobby Dodge. The first book with Bobby was Alone which was actually my least favourite out of all of hers but I did enjoy this one more. I find her book similar in style to Karin Slaughter so if you like her you should like LG's books. For every new book she writes she runs a competition where you can have yourself or friend killed off in her next book. I'm not sure I would really like to see Ann Wilkinson die some horrible grisly death but I can think of a few people I might put forward

A Whole New World - Katie Price This is KP's 2nd autobiography and start with her leaving the jungle in 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here' to her honeymoon. I'm not a fan of Jordan/Katie Price but I do lilke the occasional celeb read. After reading this I still don't like her and think she is probably the most self centered, selfish person I have read about. I spent a lot of my time shaking my head at her behaviour and she really is in denial if she thinks the only reason she didn't win Eurovision is because she was pregnant. Books read this year = 17

On The Edge - Richard Hammond A client lent me this book and I probably would not have read it otherwise. My oh watches Top Gear and I am normally on the pc so can listen to it in the background. It is a very funny and clever show but I am not really bothered about watching it so subsequently wouldn't have bought an autobiography by one of the presenters. It was a very interesting read and really gave an insight into people suffering from brain injuries and the many different problems this can cause. I think Mindy his wife probably deserved a medal at times. 7.5/10 Books read this year = 15 The Girls - Lori Lansens This is such an original idea for a book and I would love to know how LL came up with the idea. It is beautifully written and I love the autobigrapical style though I did wonder how much it truly relected the lives of conjoined twins. 8/10 Books read this year = 16

My aim is for a 100 books this year - just missed it last year so pretty focused at the mo;)

Severed - Simon Kernick One of my new favourite authors. Not as good as Relentless (his last relaease)but I'm still don't mind that I had to go to 3 different shops to find it on Friday. Books read this year = 14

The Damage Done - Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison by Warren Fellowes NON FICTION The title says exactly what this book is about and is a very interesting read that doesn't take long as it's just short of 200 pages. The things this guy witnessed and was part of for nearly 12 years is incredible and I'm nor sure how he survied it all. Books read this year = 13

The Woods - Harlan Coben By the end of the first chapter I knew I was reading a HC novel. The end of a chapter always makes you want to read the next which tends to lead to a lot of late nights for me. His main male character is always a tad sarcastic too which make smile along the way. I buy every single one of HC's books and am always on the look out for the next one. He is definately my favourite author as he never seems to write a bad book. I do prefer his Marlin Bolitar series as there are some interesting charcters in them and I find there's something very appealing about a charcter that you know the in's and out's of and exactly what to expect from them. Books read this year = 12

Burned Alive - Souad NON FICTION When Souad was seventeen she fell in love. In her village, as in so many others, sex before marriage was considered a grave dishonour to one's family and was punishable by death. This was her crime. Her brother-in-law was given the task of arranging her punishment. One morning while Souad was washing the family's clothes, he crept up on her, poured petrol over her and set her alight. In the eyes of their community he was a hero. An execution for a 'crime of honour' was a respectable duty unlikely to bring about condemnation from others. It certainly would not have provoked calls for his prosecution. More than five thousand cases of such honour killings are reported around the world each year and many more take place that we hear nothing about Miraculously, Souad survived rescued by the women of her village, who put out the flames and took her to a local hospital. Horrifically burned, and abandoned by her family and community, it was only the intervention of a European aid worker that enabled Souad to receive the care and sanctuary she so desperately needed and to start her life again. I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. It details a most horrible and disturbing crime that may difficult for us to understand here in the UK. There were parts of her story though that just didn't seem to add up. Eg She claims that whilst in hospital after being set alight that the nurses and the doctors just wanted her to die. They gave her no medical treatment and also did not feed her or give her anything to drink. She was in the hospital for weeks and I think we all know that anyone who isn't given any fluid for that amount of time would have died let alone someone with her horrendous burns. After reading about her treatment in hospital (that could not possibly have happened in the way she described) I found doubt creeping into my mind about other parts of her story. Of course it is possible that she just doesn't remember everything that happened but there is no doubt that this book has left me with a slightly uneasy feeling that I don't quite believe everything I read. I had a look on Amazon to see if anyone else had been left with that impression and came across a very interesting review by someone called Z. Khan. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burned-Alive...ustomerReviews He basically has discredited the book completely and reveals it was written after 'recovered memory' sessions. It's worth reading his review as he explains why he believes it is not a description of an actual event and his review has lead me to question the book even more. Of course it is also possible that Souad 'forgot' these memories for so long as they were so hideous for her to remember. 8/10 Books read this year = 11

Without Consent - Kathryn Fox KF ia an Australian author and that's where she also sets her books. I thought it made a nice change to read a thriller by someone who is not English or American as the majority of the authors I read fall into these 2 categories. I gave up on Patricia Cornwell books around 18 months ago as I found I didn't really enjoy the later ones she had written. KF's character Anya more than fills the gap that had been left and this is now the 2nd book I have read featuring her. 8/10 Books read this year = 10

In Stitches : The Highs & Lows of Life as an A & E Doctor by Dr Nick Edwards NON FICTION This is written in the style of a blog, although it never was, and subsequently is an easy read. It is the type of book that you can pick up and read a few sections in around 5 minutes. At times the book is very amusing and then you become incredibly frustrated 5 minutes later when you realise how much time & money is wasted in the NHS by bureaucracy introduced by one of the many managers. As a side thought perhaps this wasn't the ideal book for someone to read who goes into hospital in 7 weeks time:lol: 8/10 Books read this year = 9

My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult The First JP book I read was The Tenth Circle which I read last summer. I bought it after hearing such good things about the author. I was actually quite disappointed with it and wondered what all the fuss was about with hre books. Before Xmas whilst in tesco I came across a 3 box set of JP's books for

The Tiger's Child - Torey Hayden One Child was the first TH book I read and as soon as I finished it I knew I would read all of her books. This is the sequel to One Child and is just as good. It was great to find out what has happened with Shelia even if things hadn't quite worked out the way I had hoped for her. I was slightly wary that this book might just be a bit of a rehash of One Child with not much new content but that was not the case at all. The first 3 chapters quickly remind us what happened in the first book and then it's all new from there on in. If you've read one Child then you must read this to find out how Shelia's story continues. 9/10 Books read this year = 7

I rememember having a huge (seemed as big as me at the time ) hardback book with a light blue woven cover that had a story or poem for every day of the year.

These all have at leat 50% off at Amazon at the moment

Killing Floor - Lee Child For a first novel I thought this was pretty good and I particularly like books that feature the same character. It's great not having to get the 'feel' of a character and you feel right at home as soon as you start a book featuring a character you know. I have now added his 2nd novel to my Amazon wish list and I expect to enjoy future books even more as I really get the 'feel' for Jack Reacher. Thanks to you guys here as I bought this after reading good things about Lee Child on this forum:) 8/10 Books read this year = 6

I think one of the reasons there is not much info is that she is apparently very media savvy and is reviewing a lot of proposals from Hollywood etc for a film to be made.

Girl in the Cellar: The Natascha Kampusch Story by Michael Leidig & Allan Hall This is the story of Natasha who was abducted at the age of 10 in Austria, held in a cellar and eventually escaped 8 years later. I had been interested in reading this book for a while now. After Natascha escaped and her abductor threw himself in front of a train she made a statment that she was 'in mourning' for him. She saw both her parents once after her escape and then decided she didn't want to see them for a while and only wanted to have a phone relationship with them. She also is trying to claim the house that she was held in as hers for compensation. Some very odd things there and I hoped that this book would make a bit more sense of them. Things are not really any clearer after reading the book and I also felt that it was not particularly well written. It's possible that the translations are the problem here as a lot of people interviewed for the book were not speaking English. The sentences are often quite short eg 'Natasha was a friendly girl. She liked animals. Her cat was called Fred' etc . I was disapointed in this book but then maybe my expectations for it were too high. I felt that I didn't really learn an awful lot more than I knew already after reading this. To top it off I got muddled with Ebay and have managed to win 2 copies of it 6.5/10 Books read this year = 5

What authors do you currently read so we can offer some suggestions?

Crystal - Katie Price Every now and then I fancy a change and fancy a real bit of what I call 'trashy novels' and this is what I got with this book.. I've read better and also worse novels in this genre but it is an easy read which you don't have to think about too much 7.5/10 Books read this year = 4