[Judge a book by its cover]

The cover usually catches my eye first, and then the title, I have been known to be put off what is probably a very good book by a trashy cover or weird title

[The Book Of Lost Things by John Connolly]

I finished this yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The new, scary take on faiy tales we knew and grew up with is good, and the ending is just right. Highly recommeded

[For How Long Do You Read?]

I read at lunchtime at work, about 35/40 minutes, about an hour most evenings, and again in bed, but that can be as short as 10 minutes, depends how tired I am

[Writing in books...]

I never ever write in library books and I hate it when I borow one that has been written it. In my opinion writing in a book that is not your property is sheer vandalism

[When do you read?]

I read at work at lunch time, in bed, when there's nothing on TV (which is most of the time now). I am a quick reader, always have been. I go through a book in, on average ,2/3 days

[What is the one thing that makes you enjoy/not enjoy a book?]

A book has to suck me in within the first 10 pages. If I have to work hard to get into it then that stops me enjoying it.

 

Lately I've come across a couple of books where the back cover blurb looked good, but when I opened the book it was written in dialect. I couldn't enjoy those

 

Enjoyment comes from a good story well told no matter what the genre

[How many books do you read at once?]

I usually have 3 on the go. One at work for lunch time, one by the bed and one in the lounge

[He Who Fears the Wolf by Karin Fossum]

A school without a library isn't fit to be called a school. What are the parents thinking about to let this continue!

[Where do you get your books?]

Bookshops, charity shops, e bay, market stalls (some good bargains there from time to time), car boot sales, supermarkets

[Stephen King]

I have everything Stephen King has written. My favourite is Insomnia, closely followed by The Stand, which is one of the best books I have ever read. Carrie and The Shining were the ones to give me nightmares (both overdue for a re-read). The Dark Tower series is, for me, the failure. Went on for too long and a very poor ending.

 

If you want to start with a "classic" Stephen King then Needful Things or The Tommyknockers are good ones - not too long but have the unmistakeable King touch

[Daphne du Maurier]

I enjoyed Rebecca and Rule Britannia, which may turn out to be quite prophetic the way things are going. I've never read Frenchman's Creek, although I do have it somewhere in the TBR pile. Now seems a fitting time to get it out and try it

[Janet Evanovich]

I've seen them in the library but never tried them. I think I'm going to have to after reading the comments here

[How Many in your TBR Pile]

It was 36, but W H Smith were doing 3 for the price of 2 today so its gone up to 48

[Do you use your local library...?]

They reopened 26th April. They've installed a new self service computer system and generally re-arranged everything. I think the books just stayed there while they did it all

[Bookmarks or turned down pages or...?]

Always bookmarks - even if just an odd scrap of paper. I hate it when I get library books where pages have been turned down, or even worse, someone has written comments etc. in them. My local library has started giving away bookmarks

[Do you use your local library...?]

I use the library all the time and my local one is very good. They recently closed for a month for refurbishment and I was lost without them.

[The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith]

I've read all of them and thoroughly enjoyed them. They are an easy read, very pleasant and I find I do get caught up with them. There is an excellent interview with Alexander McCall Smith in today's Daily Mail magazine

[Stephen King Guide]

I don't feel that any of the adaptations live up to the books, but that applies to most adaptatons, not just the Stephen King ones. Nothing on the screen can every live up to what you see in your own imagination