Ruth

I'm also planning to reread some Austen this year. Not all of them - but probably Emma, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. Will, thanks for the tip re the Fay Weldon book - have added it to my wishlist!

January 1. A Beautiful Blue Death, by Charles Finch - 4.5/5 2. Gene Kelly: The Biography, by Charles Hirschhorn - 4.5/5 3. The Einstein Girl, by Philip Sington - 3/5 February 4. Carter Beats The Devil, by Glen David Gold - 3.5/5 5. Cary Grant: A Biography, by Marc Eliot - 3.25/5 6. To Be Or Not To Be... by Liz Evers - 4.5/5 7. Painting Ruby Tuesday, by Jane Yardley - 3.25/5 March 8. Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert - 2.75/5 9. Twins, by Marcy Dermansky - 3/5 10. Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard, by Ben Crystal - 5/5 11. Self Made Man, by Norah Vincent - 2/5 12. The Legend of Colton H. Bryant, by Alexandra Fuller - 5/5 13. Gigi and The Cat, by Colette - 3.5/5 April 14. Arlington Park, by Rachel Cusk - 2.5/5 15. Gregory Peck: A Charmed Life, by Lynn Haney - 3.75/5 16. The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd - 3.75/5 17. On The Beach, by Nevil Shute - 3.75/5 May 18. Starmaker: Life as a Hollywood Publicist with Farrah, the Rat Pack and 600 More Stars Who Fired Me, by Jay Bernstein - 5/5 19. The Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry - 3.5/5 20. Adventures In A TV Nation, by Michael Moore - 4/5 June 21. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, by Alison Weir - 5/5 22. The Gunslinger, by Stephen King - 2.5/5 July 23. Pure, by Andrew Miller - 3.5/5 24. Paul Newman: A Life, by Shawn Levy - 4.5/5 25. Heat Wave, by Richard Castle - 3.5/5 August 26. The Coroner's Lunch, by Colin Cotterill - 3/5 27. Animal Farm, by George Orwell - 5/5 28. The Miracle Inspector, by Helen Smith - 4.5/5 29. I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith - 3.5/5 30. Book Lover, by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack - 3.5/5 September 31. Except the Dying, by Maureen Jennings - 5/5 32. The Groucho Letters: Letters To and From Groucho Marx, by Groucho Marx - 4/5 October 33. Tatiana and Alexander, by Paullina Simons - 4.25/5 34. Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes - 4.5/5 35. Dead Man Walking, by Helen Prejean - 5/5 36. Under The Dragon's Tail, by Maureen Jennings - 4.5/5 November 37. Flappers and Philosophers: The Collected Short Stories, by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 4.25/5 December 38. The Misinterpretation of Tara Jupp, by Eva Rice - 3.5/5 39. The Man In The Picture, by Susan Hill - 3.5/5 40. An A-Z of Hellraisers: A Comprehensive Compendium of Outrageous Insobriety, by Robert Sellers - 4/5 41. The Drought, by Steven Scaffardi - 4/5

Finished Oscar and the Lady In Pink - it's very short book (you could read it in less than an hour). Unlike many reviewers, it didn't make me shed a tear, but it was very sweet and I liked it.

I finished The Atheist's Guide to Christmas, and thought it was terrific (there is no attempt by any of the 42 contributors to try and convert anyone from their chosen religion, and no banging on about religion being a bad thing). As with all books with several authors, some contributions are better than others, but there were only a couple that I didn't particularly enjoy. In an attempt to complete my self imposed challenge of reading 60 books this year - and with less than two days to go! - I have decided to read Oscar and Lady In Pink, by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, because it's a small book, and less than 100 pages long. It has been on my tbr for ages though, so it's probably time I got around to it.

Finished Avenger's Angel, which was pretty good, although I'm not really a fan of the fantasy or paranormal romance genre. It's the first in a series, and I think I'd give the others a go. I'm about to start my Christmas reading - something a bit different this year...The Atheist's Guide to Christmas. It's a collection of essays by various famous people who are atheists. Some funny, some philosophical, etc.

Oh I'm like that too. I've taken books back to the library without even opening them, but if I've actually forked out money for a book, I feel like I have to read it

Thanks Julie It's because of books like that that I hate to give up on a book. Although I wasn't sure at first, I ended up loving the book - in fact it'll be in my top 10 books of the year.

Well, I finished Lady Blue Eyes...some interesting anecdotes, but there was nothing there that Sinatra fans don't already know, and this was obviously a sanitised version of his life! Also, I just could not warm to - or sometimes even like - the author. Still, it was an undemanding and pretty enjoyable read. Next up is something in the fantasy genre - which I find a bit hit and miss - Avenger's Angel, by Heather Killough-Walden

If anyone ever tries to remake Singin' In The Rain, they will have me to answer to!! Re: Gone With the Wind - NOBODY could play Rhett Butler like Clark Gable did. I hope they never try! Some remakes are very ill-advised, but occasionally the remake can be better than the original. True Grit for instance - I far preferred the version with Jeff Bridges than the one with John Wayne - although technically that wasn't a remake; just another adaptation of the book by Charles Portis. Also Scarface with Al Pacino was a remake which was better than the original.

Finally finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle - it took me a long time to read, because it's so descriptive, but I really adored this book. It started slow - and at about 40 pages in I considered giving up, but I'm SO glad that I didn't. It was just all kinds of awesome! Highly highly recommended. About to start Lady Blue Eyes, by Barbara Sinatra, widow of Frank.

Quite liked 'French Lessons', but it was ultimately forgettable. This morning I started reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. I like the style of writing, but I'm less than 40 pages in and two dogs have died already . Not sure that I will find it enjoyable if there's going to be much of that kind of thing! Still, it's for my f2f reading group, so will persevere.

Finished reading One Day, and I loved it. Loved. It. Just a really really fantastic read, with happiness, humour, sadness, poignancy. If you haven't read this yet, I definitely recommend that you do! I'm about to start reading French Lessons, by Ellen Sussman.

Sofia, you were right - I loved it!! Absolutely fantastic - and I hope this author writes a lot more books. About to start One Day by David Nicholls - another book which I've heard fantastic things about. Hope it's as good as the last one!

Oh, goodie Definitely enjoying it so far!

Finished reading Rat Pack Confidential - gossipy, lurid and highly enjoyable! This morning I started reading Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson. I have yet to read a negative review of this book - I have high hopes for it

Just finished The House of the Wind, by Titania Hardie. Nice story, eloquent writing, but...the story moved along a bit too slowly. If it had been tightened up, and was say 100 pages less, it would have been more enjoyable. I'd still look out for more by this author though. Next is Rat Pack Confidential by Shawn Levy - looks like an interesting and easy read about Sinatra, Martin and Co.

Great review! Bought this a few weeks ago and am looking forward to reading it...maybe it will inspire me to stop buying so many books and just stick with the ones I already have (but it probably won't )

I love GoodReads (and LibraryThing - I use them for different purposes). I just like to have my list of books that I plan to read, and it's nice to have a list of books I've read in each year to look back over. I agree that some of the reviews are not so good ("this book sucked" - I mean, a review like that is not much use to anyone - but there are some good reviews on there as well). I have so many books - over 1000 - and I find it helps me to keep track of them all!

Ooh, that looks like a FAB challenge. Hope you don't mind if I borrow the idea I think I'll start it in the new year.

At lunchtime today I started reading The House of The Wind, by Titania Hardie. Little early really to know whether I'll enjoy it (I'm only 10 pages in), but so far, so good!

I've finished this now...I'm not sure that I would recommend it to anyone who is grieving for a loved one, but I don't think it would cause anyone further upset. Some of the observations Joan Didion made were insightful, and she certainly has a eloquent writing style. However, she does mentio that the book is in no way a guide to helping anyone who is recently bereaved, and it doesn't have sudden moments of enlightenment, or tips for positivity. I quite admired her for that to be honest - her feelings were obviously very raw when she wrote the book, and that really comes through. A lot of it is centred around her very ill daughter (probably equal amounts of time are given to this subject than to the death of her husband), which is understandable, as that is what was happening in her life when she wrote the book. To be honest, the book actually made me feel down, not in empathy, but just because sometimes I didn't want to pick it up, knowing that the tone of the book would affect my mood. However, if someone was reading it who had recently lost someone, they might find comfort in the feelings that Didion expresses. Sorry - that probably hasn't helped you much! It's an interesting enough book, but I feel like I need something light hearted or escapist to follow it with.

Funnily enough, just this morning I booked tickets for The Taming of the Shrew, at the RSC in February My next module for uni starts in February and I will studying that play, so I'm looking forward to it. I love (some of) the film adaptations too. Sorry to have confused you I would recommend reading it; although I was generally underwhelmed it was an easy read, and there were some genuinely funny moments.

Loads! I've seen some great films lately...I tend to like old movies too. My favourites are Singin' In The Rain Roman Holiday Funny Face The Pirate To Catch A Thief Anchors Aweigh The Big Lebowski The African Queen Edward Scissorhands Monkey Business (the Cary Grant one, not the Marx Brothers one) Barefoot In The Park

Aggghhh! How can I have gone so long without voluntarily reading Shakespeare??!!! I'm enjoying it so much. SO much

American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis. Despite the title, I always think Patrick Bateman was more of a sociopath than a psychopath.