Roland Butter

I read Half of a Yellow Sun a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it a lot.

I have a C J Box (Out of Range) to read, pickle, so that's interesting to know. I remember reading a similar sort of thing a couple of years back by Steve Hockensmith (although with perhaps a bit more humour).

You might as well, 'cos the fine's going to be ENORMOUS!!

Yes, that makes perfect sense, Marcia, and I agree with every word.

Goodness, that brings back memories! I read Faust when I was doing A-level German. It's a powerful piece of literature, sure enough.

Welcome to the Forum, Emma!

Holy Dick Van Dyke, Sue! Like most other people, I think it's all about the author, rather than the nationality. I find it difficult to attribute national "styles" to writers, I just think there are good writers and bad writers. Even our most ingrained stereotype over here in Britain - "Americans don't have a sense of humour" - gets shredded when you think of Dorothy Parker, or Carl Hiaasen, or all the people who voted for George W Bush ... (just joking, Marcia )

Wise words indeed, Hyzenthlay.

Welcome back, Deirdre! Just plunge right on in ....

Warrington v Wigan Rugby League Challenge Cup quarter-final. Sport at its very best

Not in my lifetime, I don't think, Marcia, and I'm planning on hanging around for a good while yet. It's a beautiful country with wonderful people, they say, but sadly it's become the battlefield for the hate and prejudices of other people. Tragic.

I finished DeNiro's Game last night. It's a bleak story of the relationship between two young men in Beirut. There's not a lot positive about it, but then again there's not a lot positive about the conflict in Lebanon. For all that, it's a powerful and engrossing read.

Definitely recommended. He's gone out of fashion a bit these days, but I remember reading the Guys and Dolls collection and being hugely entertained. His style is probably a bit dated now - it's perhaps best described as "New York picaresque" - but if you can put yourself "in the moment" as you read his work, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Go for it!

I've got Started Early, Took My Dog, Ophelia, but I'm some way off getting round to it - maybe one to take on holiday. I've only heard good things about Kate Atkinson's work, though.

I've moved on to DeNiro's Game by Rawi Hage. A couple of chapters in, and it's looking good. The blurb says: Bassam and George grew up together in war-torn Lebanon. Wild young men in the ruins of a splintered city, their childhood games have taken on a dangerous edge. Bassam needs money to fund his escape to the West and George wants the power that only the criminal underworld can give him. But their hopes and dreams betray them, dragging the boys towards a fate they don't know how to resist.

Finished Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere. You often hear the expression "sense of place" - that's exactly what this book creates. It's the best travel book I have ever read.

The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies is worth a read.

Hanen't read that one, but I read The Death Maze a while back, and I'd say that's pretty much spot on. If I'm not mistaken, Ariana Franklin, who died only a few months ago, was married to the film critic Barry Norman.

Thoroughly agree with all that, Kell. Unless I'm interested in the subject, I wouldn't dream of reading a biography, however well I may have heard it's written. Conversely, if the book's turgid (and I've read too many of those in my time!) then I'll struggle to get through it, even if I'm attracted to the subject. I also tend to avoid "popular culture" biographies - usually, in my case, sports personalities - 'cos I expect the writing to be shallow.

Finished The Bohemian Girl last night. OK, but not much more - it couldn't work out whether it wanted to be a knockabout comedy, a Jack the Ripper read-alike or a Gothic horror story, and the characters didn't really engage me. Oh well .. Now reading Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris. That's somewhere I've always fancied going. From Amazon: Located on a narrow, mountainous finger of Italy hard by Croatia and Slovenia, the port city of Trieste is little-visited and seldom in the news. As Jan Morris, who first came to Trieste as the English soldier James Morris in 1945, writes, "It offers no unforgettable landmark, no universally familiar melody, no unmistakable cuisine, hardly a single native name that anyone knows." Yet, as historian and travel writer Morris ably demonstrates in this homage to one of her favourite cities (others about which she has written are Hong Kong, Sydney, New York, and Venice ), Trieste has many charms. Its history is foremost among them, thanks to the city's former role as the sole port of the otherwise-landlocked Austro-Hungarian empire, which housed a small fleet there--a fleet which, from time to time, would sail off to make war against the Ottomans or the Italians. At the beginning of the 20th century, Trieste had grown to international importance as an entry point into Central Europe, so much so that it was referred to as "the third entrance of the Suez Canal". Trieste briefly took centre stage at the onset of the Cold War, when Marshall Tito claimed it for Yugoslavia; it narrowly avoided being enveloped by the Iron Curtain. Morris tells all these stories and more, bringing the city's past to life; no one should be surprised if Trieste sees more visitors thanks to her spirited study.

Cor, you've got a good memory! Waterloo Sunset is still a recommendation, for sure. Barb Jungr's taken to doing tribute albums for particular artists (Dylan, Nina Simone), but that one's still my favourite.

You have excellent taste in music, ma,am

I quote from yesterday's Guardian, poppy: First test of an Olympic venue draws protesters ...Inside, scores of children from nearby schools watched bemused as the British three-day eventer Piggy French put her horse through its dressage paces ...

This probably won't sound much help right now, but I was made redundant a few years back, and it was the best thing that could have happened to me. At the risk of sounding like a one-man HR department (and don't get me started on HR Departments ....), it really is an opportunity to step back, take a look at what you want from your life and have a think about what part work is going to play in it. Can't give you any more advice than that, I'm afraid, or I'll have to start charging for it , but believe me, if you support each other and have faith that it'll turn out right, it will do.