Talisman

Yes, I saw that yesterday too. Like Laura though, I will wait for the Fire - a touch screen doesn't interest me, as the controller I have is easy enough to use, but one that plays DVD'a and MP3' as well, now that would be useful ! Depending of course on the price, as this is rip off Britain and it is bound to cost at least twice as much ....

I am reading a really interesting book at the moment - the last one that Jennifer Worth wrote before she died, ironically on the subject of death. Jennifer was of course the author of the Call the Midwife series. Far from being morbid and morose, it is a really interesting subject albeit not one that is openly discussed. This book though is making me realise that it should be. It has also been a bit of an eye opener as to what goes on in hospitals and some (not the one I work in thank goodness) care homes.

Indeed. I think where possible it is good to read a book that is not only written by someone born in that country, but one that is also set there, and from what I have seen, most of his other books are set in other countries. They do look good as well though !

Just click on where it says sample chapter, usually on the right hand side of the page, underneath where it says "buy book".

Completed another country last night - Algeria. What the Day Owes the Night by Yasmina Khadra. The author despite the female name, is actually man, a former Officer in the Algerian Army, who used a pseudonym in order to avoid military censorship. He now lives in France. This though really was a good book, one of the best I have been so far this year, reading it was almost like listening to a beautiful song, as the way that he writes is almost poetic, with a lyrical quality to the words, and the way thet he describes what is happening to the lead character. I wish more of his books were converted to Kindle so that I could read them too.

I always think that the best cure for racism is to go and work in a nursing home. Where I work we have people from all over the world, of all different colours - Britons, Poles, Romanians, Chinese, Ghananians, Nigerians, Peruvians, Filipinos and many more. We all get on just fine, because we can see that we have all that one thing in common - a commitment to doing a good job and serving the residents. That and the fact that we are all human. The fact that someone may have a different skin colour doesn't even cross our minds, all that matters is that we get on together and do our jobs and that's the way it should be. I will know that racism is dead when I have to fill in a form and it doesn't ask me what my ethnic group is, because it will just not be relevant.

I am going to second Dilirum and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. Very rarely does a book capture my imagination in the way that both of these did - they are real edge of seat stuff. I can't wait for the third and final one.

I am about two thirds through an Algerian book at the moment - What the Day Owes the Night by Yasmina Khadra. I wasn't sure from the description as to whether I would like it, but actually it has turned out to be one of the best books (so far) that I have read this year. The year is though young ...

I find this more with spiritual books than with other types of non fiction, usually where the writer says something so profound that really makes you want to stop and re-read to make sure you really understood.

We have weekly bin collections here - one week is the green bin (recyling) and the 2nd week is the normal rubbish collection (black bags). We are lucky enough to live in an area where the different kinds of waste don't have to be sorted, not that we generate an awful lot of recyling anyway, compared to some. There are only 2 of us, we rarely use pre-packaged foods and don't read newspapers (other than the local one), so it is enough for us to keep a large bag for life in the kitchen where all the recyling is stored ready for bin day. It is then simply taken outside and put in the bin. The food waste is dealt with seperately in its own bin, which again is just taken outside and emptied into the relevent bin when the kitchen one is full.

Fools Rush In - Brook Benton

Now I have been converted to Kindle, I don't have a TBR pile as such - I simply download another book when the previous one is finished. I do however have a lengthy wish list, from where most books are downloaded, which I guess is the equivilant - it currently has about 60 titles on it and seems to be growing by the day.

1. Did you grow up in a book-loving household, and did your parents read to you? Pick a favourite book from your childhood, and tell us about it. When I first started school, I acuially had problems with reading, so the school informed my Mum and she started buying me books and reading them to me at home. I very quickly developed a love of reading and within a year or so my reading age started to shoot up, until by the age of 8 I had the reading of a 14 year old. I don't remember a great about the books that I read as a child, but one that does stand up was The Didakoi by Rumur Godden, which is about a young girl who is half gypsy and the prejudice that she has to face. It seemed to strike a chord with me, not because I am half gypsy, or even mixed race, but because like the character in this book, I was sensitive and different, and was also bullied. 2. What was one of the first 'grown-up' books that you really enjoyed? Again it is difficult to remember specifics, as I read so many different books. 3. Pick a favourite book that you read in early adulthood - especially if it's one which helped set you off in a certain direction in life. Mine was not exactly one that I read in early adulthood, but more late 20's, but it was nevertheless one that changed my life and my whole way of thinking - Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers. There have of course been many others since. 4. What's one of your favourite books that you've found in the last five years, and has belonging to the Book Club Forum changed your reading habits? Again, there are so many of them - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haines, and so many others. Belonging to BCF probably has changed my habits quite a bit in that I am more likely to read (and find) books that I might otherwise have not considered, and also explore different genres. At the moment I am doing the Reading Around the World Book Challenge, and I almost certainly wouldn't have known about this were if not for BCF. 5. Finally - a guilty pleasure, or a favourite that might surprise people! No real surprises I don't think, I don't feel guilty about any of the books that I read and I am sure what if anything would surprise people. I don't read to try and surprise and impress others anyway, but to learn more about the world and also about myself. I am not averse to the odd bit of chicklit though now and again.

dish

The Road Cycling Races will be going right through our village - in fact, Box Hill where I live, forms more than 50 percent (of the men's at least) route. The Road Races are one of the first events after the opening ceremony, with the mens race on 28th July and the women's on 29th. The men will be doing 9 laps of the village, and the women just 2 - as Editor of the village newsletter I have been forced to make myself involved in the consultation process, which has been lengthy and detailed, and I am actually now, despite the road closures and the fact that most residents don't seem that enamoured with it, really looking forward to the events. My own suggestion then would be Olympic hopeful Mark Cavendish' autobiography Boy Racer.

Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. I have always loved his work, and have a large collection on DVD which I watch when I am in the mood for a good laugh.

It has been a most productive year for me so far book wise, with around 14 or so books read already - this time last year I had managed not even a quarter of that. I have been averaging around one book every 5 days since I got my Kindle last August and it has definately changed my reading habits. I read 4 books alone during the week that I recently spent on Lundy - Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason, Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare, Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (I didn't think her first one, Dilirum could possibly be equalled, but this, the sequal was even better, real seat of the pants stuff), and last but no means least, Drums on the Night Air by Veronica Cecil. Inspired by The Artist, I am now about halfway through reading Charlie Chaplin's Autobiography.

Just back back from a weeks holiday on Lundy, where I slept, walked, read and ate, pretty much in that order. All four were quite prolific - at a rough estimate I walked around 40 miles during the week, and managed to get through 4 books. Two have been added to this list - Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare for Albania, and Drums on the Night Air by Veronica Cecil for Congo. Ismail Kadare was born in Albania, but Veronica Cecil was not born in the Congo. The book is about her experiences of living there, with her husband during the 1960's. I have needless to say fot a bit behind with the reviews, but I will try and bring them up to date in the next day or so.

There are some details, but nothing too extreme (at least I didn't think so) - and nothing too technical either. The only way you really know though is to try the first book at least and see for yourself. You might be surprised.

I am open to most things too, although I don't go a bundle on horror or chicklit, I have read some chicklit and enjoy it occasionally after I have a lot of heavier books. The one thing I would never read though is celebrity autobiography, at least not the modern kind. I thought I would add that last bit, as at the moment I am halfway through reading Charlie Chaplin's memoirs.

Do Like You - Stevie Wonder

It really is superb Ruth - take it from me. I am a big silent movie fan anyway, as my parents were a generation older than most of my friends, so I grew up watching a lot of them. The Directors and Producers really did their research on this one, charting the transition from silent movies to talkies. To me, apart from the fabulous acting, soundtrack and scenery, the film just underlined the fact so much of communication is non verbal - nuances and facial expressions can and often do convey so much more than mere words.

We went to see The Artist this afternoon, and without wanting to give too much away, it was absolutely brilliant and the best film I have seen in ages. Although it is meant to be seen through the eyes of the male lead, whose career is faltering, I can see that there is far more hinted at for those who have the eyes to see it - there is one particular scene where his worst fears about talking films are being materialised in the sights and sounds of all the things that he sees around him, and for me at least, the movement from having sat through at that stage, a good half hour of silence, apart from the soundtrack, and the sudden noise that represents his fears is palpable. That scene really highlights the sheer amount of stuff that we are bombarded with these days everywhere we turn and how silence is just not respected anymore as something that we do actually need. A very interesting film and one that I shall be ordering the moment the DVD is released. It deserves every single Oscar it has been nominated for.

Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan

Coran and I hope to go and see The Artist over the weekend. A couple of friends have told us how they enjoyed it, and I do love silent movies.