Ruth

Shall We Dance, with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. As always with their films, the plot is wafer thin, and as always, it doesn't matter, becuase it isn't about the plot - it's about the music and dancing. This is the film where they dance on roller skates, which is incredibly impressive. I didn't think it touched Gene Kelly's tap dance on roller skates from It's Always Fair Weather though.

Brilliant I love Sinatra and Martin especially (I'm a sucker for Rat Pack movies as well as their music ) A Johnny Cash CD was my latest purchase, just this morning.

I agree about James Patterson. I read Along Came A Spider, which I thought was really badly written. Haven't picked up any books by him since, and I don't intend to. Another author I wouldn't waste time reading is Christopher Ransom. I read The Birthing House by him - it was possibly the worst book I have ever read. Ever. After I finished it, I googled reviews by other people, and pretty much every review I read said how bad it was, so it wasn't just me. And Ali Smith - I read The Accidental by her, and didn't like it at all. It has had some great reviews, and I'm sure she has a lot of fans, but she is definitely not an author that I would want to try again.

Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron? Brilliant! not read the book though - although I might, now that you have piqued my interest

I'll add my vote for To Kill A Mockingbird,a nd Uncle Tom's Cabin. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is also a terrific read, but not sure if it's ideal for teens. There's also a Young Adult book called Bone by Bone by Bone, by Tony Johnston, which deals with the issue of race and racism. Lots of luck

I'm SO glad you enjoyed The Art of Racing in the Rain. Sometimes you read a book that just stays with you, and that was definitely just such a book for me. I also loved the way Enzo saw things. He was such an amazing character - it's just a lovely lovely book.

I love the literature map - it has caused my wishlist to expand considerably in the past! Another fan of Cormac McCarthy here - although I've only read two of his books: The Road, and No Country For Old Men. I find his writing very clean and spare (hope that makes sense - I know what I'm trying to say), and like Milo says, he makes every word count. Having said that I lent The Road to three colleagues and NOT ONE of them liked it!!! The film adaptation of No Country... is well worth seeing as well. They made a really good job of it. As for writers like Cormac McCarthy - I'm tempted to say Annie Proulx. She writes beautifully too.

^^Thinner, as in the Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) book? That was the first book by Stephen King which I read, and I really liked it. I've finished Gigi and The Cat, by Colette. Quite liked both stories, but as they were both short, there wasn't much room for characterisation. I'd definitely read a full length novel by Colette though, based on these. Plugging on with Arlington Road. Full of women with money, nice homes and healthy children, all whingeing about their lot. Still waiting for a likeable character to come along...but will persevere!

I loved One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - the book and the film. A rare occasion of a great adaptation of a great book. Although the first time I tried to read the book I couldn't get into it. A few years later I tried again and really enjoyed it. I can see how it would not lend itself to being read aloud though!

Gigi and The Cat, by Colette Gigi and The Cat are two short novels (60 and 100 pages respectively) by French writer Colette. Both revolve around the theme of love, or some twisted version of it. Gigi – which was adapted into a hugely successful musical in the 1950s – is about a young girl, who is being groomed (or trained) by her grandmother and great aunt, into becoming a courtesan. They try to educate in the ways of the world and the ways of men, but the naive yet impetuous Gilberte (‘Gigi’) instead falls for a French playboy twice her age (I’m not making this up!). Despite the subject matter, the book is written in a light-hearted, humorous way, and the subject is handled delicately. The writing is both charming and eloquent, and I loved the way that so much of the action was unseen, but related through dialogue between the characters. Gigi is likeable, her grandmother and great aunt less so. I didn’t much care for Gaston (the film interpretation of the character, played by Louis Jourdan, is much more sympathetic), but he more or less won me over in the end. The Cat is about a young girl named Camille, who is jealous of her new husband Alain’s love and affection for Saha, his Persian Blue cat. Camille eventually goes to extreme lengths to rid herself of her rival for Alain’s affections – with far reaching consequences. I didn’t like this story as much as Gigi, mainly because neither Alain nor Camille were particularly likeable characters, and I felt that two such selfish and self-absorbed people probably deserved each other. Nonetheless, the writing is eloquent, even with occasional humour, even if the ending was almost inevitable from the outset. These stories are the first works by Colette that I have ever read. Based on these, I would probably be interested in seeking out a full length novel, where the characters might perhaps be slightly better developed. (The lack of characterisation was a little niggle I had with the book, but I find this to be fairly common in short stories or novellas.) Overall, I would recommend Colette as a writer.

Yes I can see what you mean re Brother Crispin. I'm not a fan of medication if it can be avoided; however, for some people it is extremely helpful. As you say, the other Monks' treatment of him could not have helped his situation, and could very well have worsened it.

I found this chapter very interesting. However, this chapter (and the final one) were the ones I had the most problems with regarding the ethics of her experiment. Can you imagine the uproar if she had been a man dressed as a woman to get into a nunnery?!! I was surprised with how well they Monks actually took the news (I know that forgiveness is a cornerstone of their beliefs, but still). I am not religious at all, but I thought that her deception in this chapter was terrible. However, as VF said, it seemed to be at this point that Norah's double life really started to get to her emotionally. This comes up later in the book, but I won't say anything about it yet, as I don't want to give away any spoilers. Regarding the Monks themselves - I would definitely agree that for most of them, it was a kind of escape from a life on 'the outside' which they were possibly not able to hack. I don't think that applied to all of them though. And given how forgiving they were of Norah, I was disgusted at their treatment of Brother Crispin, who was taking medication to cope with his problems. At least he was facing up to the problems!

I think there's a difference between science and speculative fiction. I'll admit that science fiction is not a genre I'd usually go for, whereas dystopian fiction - which is how I would classify books such as The Handmaid's Tale, A Clockwork Orange, Brave New World, 1984, etc. - is one of my favourite genres. (The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favourite books.) Ian is right also, when he says that shops tend to lump books into a genre which they probably don't actually belong to, to get the attention of shoppers. This is probably great for some authors, but can work against others. Actually thinking about it - science fiction is not so much a genre I'd avoid, but fantasy is. I used to be guilty of thinking of them as more or less the same thing, but there's actually a big difference. I find a lot of fantasy irritating, science fiction not so much.

I will do. I'm really looking forward to reading this

You've convinced me I shall make it an April read!

^^^I'm the same. I read Along Came A Spider, and thought the writing was very sub-par. I know he's a massively popular author though, so he must have something. (A lot of writers are like that though - I really like Cormac McCarthy, but so far, three of my workmates have read the Road and all of them disliked it, and his writing style.)

My reading was stalled by a busy weekend. However, I'm plugging on with Arlington Park, although so far I don't like any of the characters. All they seem to do is whinge, whinge, whinge. As it's for my f2f book group, I shall press on and finish it though; at least it's quite short. Nearly finished The Cat by Colette. I really like her writing, and am going to have a look at her full length novels.

I have seen so many good reviews for this book - I found it in a charity shop the other day, so snapped it up. I have another book by JoJo Moyes on my tbr - The Peacock Emporium, I think?

Wow, that's fab!! A friend of mine in America went to a thrift store and came away with a box full of books (28 in total) for $1. ONE DOLLAR!! She said that they were basically saying that you could have as many books as you could fit into a box for $1. We were talking to her yesterday, and she got some great titles. I'm reading The Cat, by Colette, which I'm enjoying. I also started Arlington Park by Rachel Cusk this morning. It seems to be full of whingeing women, but I shall see how I get on.

I am in Paris at the end of the 19th century, with a woman who is jealous of her husband's devotion to his cat. And I'm in Arlington Park, listening to a load of miserable women moaning about their lives.

This is the film with Dominic West in, isn't it? He is my (to use an 80s word) hearth-throb. So this film is definitely on my to-watch list. Thanks for pointing out that it's a ghost, not a horror story. I'm not a big fan of horror, but I do like some ghost stories, and would also agree that The Others was a terrific film I watched Tootsie at the weekend, which I have somehow managed never to see up until now, despite the fact that I really like Dustin Hoffman. I enjoyed it a lot - not sure that I would agree with the AFI that it's the second funniest film ever (beaten to the top spot by Some Like It Hot), but Dustin's acting and a terrific supporting cast made it well worth watching.

Another very interesting post VF The reason I was surprised that the women still wanted to see her was not because they were turned off by the fact that she was female, but by the fact that she had lied to them. Also, I would have felt 'used' somehow - they were subjects for an experiment to her. I understand what you're saying about women being rude VF, and can only promise that not all women are like that. I've seen people (even friends of mine) be rude to men in bars, when the men were being polite and friendly. (No matter how much equality is afforded to women these days, I still think that men are generally expected to do the approaching.) I've always tried to be nice if a man has approached me - after all, it isn't easy putting yourself out there like that. Occasionally I've had a drunken idiot come up and act or speak inappropriately - and I used to do bar work when I was younger, where a lot of younger men (not wanting to generalise, but it generally was younger men) would treat barmaids as though we were thick or easy - and then I think it's fair enough to be a bit sharper, but not if a man's just trying to start a conversation. It made me laugh too when she had to out herself to the women in the bar when she wasn't getting any positive reaction from them as Ned! I also agree that as a gay woman, she was in a better position to date women as Ned rather than if she was a straight woman pretending to be a man.

The Legend of Colton H. Bryant, by Alexandra Fuller This books takes narrative liberties to tell the true story of a real Wyoming cowboy, Colton H. Bryant. Born in 1980 to a loving and close family, Colton is often teased in childhood for his short attention span and simple outlook, but he never loses his love of life and grows up to be a decent and kind husband, father, brother and son. With stunning blue eyes and a truly beautiful soul, Colton becomes one of Wyoming’s favourite sons, but as he and his friends grow up, reality bites and he starts working on one of Wyoming’s Oil Rigs, a dirty and dangerous job, but the only option for many young men in the area. The book tells Colton’s life in a series of short vignettes and ‘snapshots’ from his youth and adulthood. It is mostly told in short chapters (about 3 – 5 pages long) and through these chapters, we not only get to know Colton, but also his family, best friend Jake and wife Melissa. (His family and friends were completely open and honest with Fuller in describing his life.) This book made me cry – and that isn’t something that happens very often when I’m reading (I love to read, and books often make me laugh, but rarely do they make me cry). Alexandra Fuller’s writers is incredible – beautiful, evocative and poetic. This is an author who can bring such emotion to the reader. She finds the hero in Colton, and really made me feel for this sweet young man, in a way that I almost didn’t even realise until tragedy hits in his story. At times, I found myself re-reading passages simply because the writing was so lovely. Despite the harsh life for many people in Wyoming – which is perfectly illustrated, Fuller makes the place – and its people – incredibly interesting, and it’s clear that despite hating the greedy oil companies who have taken over so much of the area – she has a deep affection and love for the place. I adored this book, and getting to know Colton, his family and friends. It’s a story that won’t leave me for a long time, and I would highly recommend this book to just about anybody.

Yes, I was exactly the same. Loved all the adaptations, film and stage (like you, I prefer the comedies) but never enjoyed reading Shakespeare. I read A Midsummer Night's Dream after watching an adaptation, and that really helped me understand it. I hope he likes it I think it would be great for people who don't like Shakespeare, or for people who have read him before Thank you Oh, the dreaded iambic pentameter. I grew to hate those words when I was studying poetry!! But it's all explained clearly in this book and makes it 'click' somehow. Well, so far I'm really enjoying it I really like Colette's writing style, and may seek out more of her work.

Started reading Gigi and The Cat by Colette today (Kindle edition). I like the film adaptation of Gigi back in the 1950s, and the book seems like a nice easy read too. Also, still reading The Legend of Colton H Bryant, which I am enjoying. I seem to like books set in Wyoming - I think the barren but beautiful landscape appeals to me. I'd love to visit there one day.