Kate

I've been to the library and taken out: Ahern: Thanks for the Memories Jewell: Vince and Joy Evanovich: Plum Lovin' I've started reading Macomber: Christmas in Seattle

Amazon synopsis: The Wonderful Adventure of Uncle Wizard is a fun-packed adventure story for children under the age of 10. It features over 40 fantastic illustrations of Uncle Wizard's adventures, from mixing spells in his wigwam in Happy Apple Lane, to facing the Thunder Troll in the Land of Forever. Uncle Wizard is the not the greatest wizard in the world. In fact, when it comes to magic it's fair to say Uncle Wizard has his problems. His spells always go disastrously wrong. He's turned his television into a penguin, accidentally sucked all the clouds out of the sky with an enchanted vacuum cleaner, and no one has ever quite recovered from his unfortunate 'turnip' spell. But, when the most evil wizard to ever live, Grim Wizard, kidnaps all the Great Wizards and captures Wizard HQ, only Uncle Wizard can save the world. Together with his trusty friend, Bob the Pigeon, Uncle Wizard sets off to the Land of Forever in search of the only spell that can defeat Grim Wizard. There he encounters hoardes of hideously fanged creatures; Water Dragons and the Ghost Giant of Haunted Hill, and a host of magical delights; Moon Camels, the Waddling Rocks of Boom Mountain, and a beautiful witch... Can Uncle Wizard find the spell to defeat Grim Wizard and save the world? Find out in The Wonderful Adventure of Uncle Wizard. This is a novel written by Richard Anderson and illustrated by his brother. With over 40 illustrations the book is neatly broken up and being a children's book this adds to the magic and imagination. The star of this book is Uncle Wizard - a wizard who is not very good at magic. He reminded me a lot of Rincewind out of the Discworld books. His sidekick is a pie-loving pigeon called Bob. When the Grim Wizard defeats the Great Wizards it is down to Uncle Wizard and Bob to save the day, with the help of the Witch and the Land of Forever. There are a lot of adventures in this book, which I found a quick and easy read. There is excitement and some amazing characters. Anderson has a wonderful imagination and this is very visible throughout the book. This is a children's book and that is obvious as you read it, but for those under the age of 7 or 8 I would read it first; I thought there were parts which would scare younger children. I thought this was well written - descriptive and gripping. The writing is simple and perfect for children. For those of an older age they will love this book. There are some amazing characters in the book, such as the moving rock. There were also some amusing movements, like when Uncle Wizard turned the river into an ice slide and went skating. I did however find Bob the pigeon irritating. His trademark is his love for pies, but I found that annoying me after a while. That said, this was an alright book and I think children will enjoy it. 7/10 Publisher: Rules Review Publishing Limited Website: http://www.unclewizard.co.uk/# RRP:

142. The Wonderful Adventure of Uncle Wizard by Richard Anderson 7/10

I have just finished Richard Anderson's The Wonderful Adventure of Uncle Wizard. Will write my review later. I think I'll carry on reading Charles Dicken's The Cricket on the Hearth

141. If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern 7/10

I finished Cecelia Ahern's If You Could See Me Now. Easy, quick read. Not what I was expecting but not a bad book

I am planning to read Cecelia Ahern's If You Could See Me Now today. Not what I expected so far...

136. Holidays at Brighton by Brighton 4/10 137. Second Honeymoon by Joanna Trollope 7/10 138. The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett 10/10 139. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis 9/10 140. The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews 7/10

Yesterday I finished The Flying Troutmans, taking my 2009 reading up to 140 books. I started The Wonderful Adventure of Uncle Wizard by Richard Anderson yesterday, hopefully will make a dent in it today

1) How did you find the style Toews used? To be honest, I didn't really like it. Like Kell said, I missed speech marks - proper punctuation can go a long way in my opinion. I have A Complicated Kindness on my shelf, and I remember that I put it down for that reason. However, I may pick it up again as I did get used to it. I found she jumped around a lot - and some of it was just randomness. She remembered odd things which I didn't find relevant, and she added in things that just seemed out of place - like Adam the junkie. 2) How did you find Hatty? Was she a credible, authentic character? Anything in particular struck out to you? How was she in the beginning? And in the end? Erm, I felt sorry for her - getting dumped, having to struggle with having Min as a sister, and arriving when Min was going into hospital. I didn't think she made wise choices however. She seemed to lack control. The kids are messed up, and she just left them like that. Why couldn't she make Thebes wash for example. And at the end when she leaves Logan with his Dad - is that her decision to make? I also found her a bit self-absorbed. It seemed like she found their journey such a hardship - she kept thinking about how she could be in Paris. I felt I wanted to tell her to shut up because she made the decision to take a road trip. 3) How did the beginning (Hatty returning to her sisters family, everything there) make you feel? What thoughts did it bring up? I was pleased she returned to them, but were her motives self-less? I don't think so. She had just been dumped, what was left for her in Paris? She ran away to Paris, and that is not usually a solution, you have to face up to life, and I think that was she was doing. I found her decision for a road trip reckless. And not telling the schools what was going on. I felt she could have had help, but was too focussed on herself to get it. 4) What do you think the "flying" refers to in the title? Why are they the Flying Troutmans? Could it be as simple as the road trip? Or could it be that they are all away with the fairies. All of them seem absorbed in their own tangles, yet all connected through Min. Flying could be escapism - they all seem to want to escape the life they are living. 5) What was Hattie and Min's relationship like? Not good in my opinion. Min was unstable, leaving Hattie to fear for her life, Min's life, and what is going to happen. Min was not a good older sister, but her problem was Hattie. I didn't really get why she was the problem, but I felt that even what Min was well, her heart wasn't in looking after Hattie. She no longer had attention so acted out I guess and that affected Hattie in a bad way. 6) What about the other sibling pair, Logan and Thebes? I think their relationship is opposite to Min and Hattie. Although they fought and both were struggling with demons left by their Mum but they looked out for each other. I felt Logan was scared of pushing Thebes over the edge. When he disappeared and left her in a state he did anything to get her happy again - I think that fear was underlying in their relationship, but that had a good outcome, it made them close and look out for each other. 7) Why is it important that Hattie and Min's dad was dead, or was it? What about the events surrounding his death? Why do you think Toews went with that line of story? Their Dad was an anchor I think, always looking out for them - for example when Min jumped off the pier and he jumped in after her. I think that not having him around affected the girls, Min especially as it meant she could go off the rails more. And also he wasn't the one who was suppose to die - Hattie was. That could lead to more resentment and extreme behaviour in Min. We also read about Hattie and her swimming coach - she acted out too and having her father around might have prevented that. 8) Anything else you'd like to bring up? Like the others, I liked Thebes randomness too. I thought it fitted nicely into the story as there were many random parts and episodes in the book. I thought it was very quick to read, and it wasn't a difficult read once I got used to the lack of punctuation. I thought she left the story open though. We don't know what happened to Min; we never find out why Thebes wished she hadn't been born or how bad the self-harming was. I found the book inconclusive really. I would probably rate this book as 7/10 - not really bad but not amazing either.

I like yours Calilily

Yeah I wasn't impressed by the freestyle professional dance either. And I thought you could tell that it was the Hairspray under-studies - mind you I loved it anyway! And yay for Austen I'm so excited Chris got through - I've been supporting him since the beginning. I'd like to see a Charlston again too

I have indeed finished The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Think its time to curl up with The Flying Troutmans

I should finish The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe this morning. Been reading The Forgotten Garden in bed - really enjoying it. Should get more of The Flying Troutmans read today (yep, I have a lot of books on the go )

Well we popped into Borders for the sale and came away with: For Me: Debbie Macomber - Christmas in Seattle Three box set: Shelley - Frankenstein, Stevenson - Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and other stories, Stoker - Dracula For Chris: Bernard Cornwall - The Burning Land Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol (although I will read this too)

Michael York. This book makes me feel Christmassy

I have finished The Hogfather now so I thought I would listen to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis while doing my cross stitch

I've been reading them in published order. I passed The Hogfather last month - thought I'd save it for Christmas

Ooo Equal Rites is a good book. I'm onto The Hogfather

I love getting books as presents, lucky you Sarah I'm listening to The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett - only got about 2 hours left so should finish it this morning

I'm reading Dickens' The Cricket on the Hearth. This one is an illustrated e-book

I loved that book. Linda writes such good novels

What did you think of Divas Don't Knit?