Ruth

Anatomy of a Murder. Forget 'It's A Wonderful Life'.....Anatomy of a Murder was James Stewart's best film by far (well, that's just my humble opinion!) Love it - except for the ending!!!! What a let-down. Still the 2 and a half hours that went before it made it definitely worth the watch

Starting this tonight - looking forward to it!

Sense and Sensibility, with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. I remember seeing it at the cinema when it came out, and enjoying it, but haven't watched it since until this weekend. It was just as good as I remember. However,

Finished Tatiana and Alexander, by Paullina Simons, and loved it Dipping into Flappers and Philosophers, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (have read about half of it - it's a book of short stories, and I tend to read one short story between full length novels), but tonight I will be starting Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes. One of my friends finished it this weekend, and she thought it was truly fantastic. It's on my tbr, so now seems as good a time as any to start it.

Tatiana and Alexander, by Paullina Simons (minor spoilers) This is the second book in Paullina Simons’ trilogy about young couple Alexander and Tatiana. The spoilers I mention in the title of this post refer to both this book and the previous book, ‘The Bronze Horseman’. The two title characters are actually not physically together for most of this book; Tatiana having escaped to America at the end of The Bronze Horseman, believing her husband Alexander to be dead; and Alexander still in Russia and forced to lead a penal battalion in war, with not enough soldiers, not enough ammunition and certainly not enough support from his country’s leader. While Tatiana attempts to make something of her life – she becomes a nurse at Ellis Island, makes friends, raises her and Alexander’s son Anthony, and even considers dating again – she can never escape the possibility that her husband, the love of her life just might be alive. Alexander meanwhile has no idea where in the world Tatiana might be, or even if she is still alive. I enjoyed this book, just as I enjoyed The Bronze Horseman. In this instalment of the story, Alexander’s back story, including how he came to be living in the Soviet Union, and his life before he met Tatiana, is covered, with the result that he is a much more sympathetic and rounded character. I thought the parts which detailed him fighting for a war he was no longer sure he believed in, under horrific conditions, to be absolutely compelling. The contrast between the lives which husband and wife led during this period were very marked – while Tatiana has found comfort and luxury, Alexander is barely surviving, and watches his fellow soldiers die on a daily basis. The ending was superb – the last 100 pages or so are genuinely unputdownable! There is a third instalment in this series, which I certainly look forward to reading very soon. Highly recommended.

Will be interested to read your thoughts on The Casual Vacancy. My mum bought it the other day, and I'm hoping to borrow it once she has read it. Looking forward to your pics too I'm about 2/3 of the way through Tatiana and Alexander, and still thoroughly enjoying it. It's weird, because I can see the (sometimes obvious) flaws in this book, but I just can't put it down. It's the second book in a trilogy, and I want to read the third one soon.

I snapped this up when I saw it in a charity shop the other day. Thanks for your thoughts Michelle and Lexiepiper - I'm looking forward to it

Adding my voice to the support for The Art of Racing in the Rain. Such a lovely book

Hi ashersHay I would recommend Avenger's Angel, by Heather Killough-Warden. I'm not really into that genre, but I really enjoyed this one.

I watched a few films last week. Picnic, with William (swoon) Holden. I liked it, although it was a flawed movie, and Holden was too old at 37 to play a man in his early to mid twenties. But he's one of my favourite actors, and very under-rated. Also Now, Voyager which I hadn't seen for years. I was a bit disappointed in it actually, although I think Bette Davis did some of her best work in this film. I also watched Hombre with Paul Newman. Not really a fan of Westerns, but this was a great film.

I remember my brother getting it on video when I was a teenager. I think I watched it every night for months on end. My parents had so much patience! I haven't watched it from beginning to end in years, but if it comes on tv and I happen to catch a few scenes, I always know them by heart. I'm like that with Singin' In the Rain as well Glad you enjoyed it. I fancy seeing this one as well - Damian Lewis and Ray Winstone in the same film....it's got to be worth watching!

Thanks Kylie and Poppy I hope you enjoy the book Kylie. There are a couple of footnotes, but not nearly enough - I Googled a number of the correspondents, which helped as I could then see how they knew Groucho. Definitely worth reading. I kept reading bits out to my husband, or bursting into giggles!

Still reading Tatiana and Alexander, by Paullina Simons. It's over 600 pages long and I'm about halfway through. Loving it

I love P&P (But I love Emma and Persuasion more!) It's been a while since I read Angela's Ashes, but I remember I enjoyed it a lot. I hope you do too!

Daddy Long Legs, with Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. Lovely film

Finished The Groucho Letters: Letters To and From Groucho Marx. Could have read it much quicker, but its the kind of book I prefer to dip in and out of, and I was also reading a short story collection at the same time. (F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'Flappers and Philosophers' which is great, but which I have put aside for now, as I felt like reading a full length novel.) Anyway, enjoyed The Groucho Letters a lot, and have now started Tatiana and Alexander, by Paullina Simons. It's the second book in The Bronze Horseman trilogy, and I loved the first one, so have high hopes for this!

The Groucho Letters: Letters To and From Groucho Marx As the title suggests, this book is a collection of letters sent to and from comedian and actor Groucho Marx. Groucho was a prolific letter writer, and corresponded with friends, colleagues, politicians, other writers, and many more. I am not going to list the many people who received or sent the letters in this book – it would take too long, for one thing – but the book is a shining example of Groucho’s wit and wisdom, his acerbic sense of humour, and (to a lesser extent) his beliefs. My favourite exchange was between Groucho and T.S. Eliot. It was clear that Groucho was much in awe of Eliot’s work, and when the two met for dinner, he hoped for a ‘literary evening’ – only to discover that Eliot was equally in awe of Groucho, and just wanted to discuss Marx Brothers’ films! I liked this book, and thought that it was great to dip in and out of – there were some extremely funny one-liners, and Groucho was also clearly a very astute man. My only criticism is really an editorial one – a lot of the correspondents may not be known to people reading the book (I know that I certainly had to look some of them up to see who they were, and how they were connected to Groucho), and therefore, the context of the letters isn’t always entirely clear. Nonetheless though, this was highly enjoyable read, and one that I would definitely recommend.

Some movies do justice to the book. A few that spring to mind are The Green Mile - both the book and film are excellent - The Godfather, and Brokeback Mountain. Well, Brokeback Mountain was a short story; a very good one, which was turned into an excellent film.

Singin' In the Rain from the film of the same name. Moses S'poses, also from Singin'In The Rain

Jane Eyre Atticus Finch (yes, I know he's in American literature, but I cannot mention top characters without mentioning him!)

Thank you I'd definitely recommend the tv show as well, particularly if you like crime or historical dramas.

I finished Except the Dying, by Maureen Jennings. It's the first book in the Murdoch Mysteries series - the tv show Murdoch Mysteries, which was based on the characters from these books, is one of my very favourite shows, so I was eager to read the books. It was an excellent book - murder mystery set in Toronto in 1895. Had me guessing all the way through, and it was one of those books which I just didn't want to put down. I'll definitely be reading the subsequent books in the series. I wasn't sure what to read next, so I grabbed a couple of books off my shelf - Flappers and Philosophers: The Collected Short Stories, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Groucho Letters: Letters To and From Groucho Marx. These are both books I can dip in and out of, so if I get a sudden urge to read something else (which is very likely!) I can put them aside for a bit

Very sad news - he was only 54. By all accounts, Michael Clarke Duncan was a lovely man - a real gentle giant. He was heartbreaking in The Green Mile - I sobbed and sobbed. An amazing, powerful performance. He also had a flair for comedy. He will be missed.

I am definitely The All-the-Timer/Compulsive/Voracious/Anything Goes Reader! Wherever you go, whatever you do, there's a book with you. It doesn't matter what it is, really, so long as there are pages with words on them, or an e-reader with words on it. We can't really suggested anything here because you took it with you to the grocery store or subway or library or laundromat or coffee shop, and you're standing in line or sitting down and reading it right now. Yep, that's me!

Except The Dying, by Maureen Jennings This is the first book in a series of seven, which are collectively known as the Murdoch Mysteries, all of which feature a Canadian Police Detective named William Murdoch, who solves crimes in the late 1800s, in Toronto. Three of the novels were adapted into television movies, starring Peter Outerbridge as the title character, and a five season (so far) television show, with Yannick Bisson in the title role, featuring the characters from the books, but with all new storylines, has proved very successful. The tv series is one of my favourite shows, so I was looking forward to reading the novels, and seeing where the character of William Murdoch began. I certainly was not disappointed. This fascinating novel which combines crime drama and historical fiction, is quite different from the tv show – Doctor Julia Ogden does not appear in this book at all, and Inspector Brackenridge only plays a minor role, whereas both of these characters are major characters in the show. However, I do not intend for this review to be a comparison between the show and the books, especially as both are equally enjoyable in their own right. The story in this first Murdoch book revolves around the death of a young lady, who is found naked and frozen to death one wintery night. As Murdoch and his colleague, Constable Crabtree investigate the murder, they find that almost everyone connected with the young girl has secrets of their own, and there seems to be no shortage of suspects for the crime. The ending was not predictable; a few times I thought I had worked out who was responsible, but I was pleasantly surprised. The character of Murdoch is well drawn, as is that of Constable Crabtree. Also, the family with whom the dead girl resided were also well fleshed out. There were no real gimmicks or twists in the story – just a very well told detective story, which showed Murdoch’s quick intelligence and dogged determination. I also thought that life in Toronto in the late 1800s was well depicted,with the atmosophere leaping off the page. It’s a cliche to say it, but this book really was a page turner. I would highly recommend it to any fans of historical fiction or crime novels, and I look forward to reading the subsequent books in the series.