Kate

The boys dance was rubbish!! Glad we don't have to see that any more. I'm pleased with last nights result, but I felt a bit sorry for her too. Should be interesting watching the boys go against the girls now

Hello!

This was on my reading list for university, and I am glad I picked it. Synopsis: In Hanky Park, near Salford, Harry and Sally Hardcastle grow up in a society preoccupied with grinding poverty, exploited by bookies and pawnbroker, bullied by petty officials and living in constant fear of the dole queue and the Means Test. His love affair with a local girl ends in a shotgun marriage, and, disowned by his family, Harry is tempted by crime. Sally, meanwhile, falls in love with Larry Meath, a self-educated Marxist. But Larry is a sick man and there are other more powerful rivals for her affection. The definitive deception of a northern town in the midst of the thirties' depression. Walter Greenwood's "Love on the Dole" was the first novel to be set against a background of mass unemployment and was instantly recognised as a classic when it was first published in 1933. Raw, violent and powerful, it was a cry of outrage that stirred the national conscience in the same way as the Jarrow march. This is a very graphic look at life in the Industrial North in the 1930s. This was a time where Britain was suffering in the Depression with unemployment, the dole and Means Testing, poverty, poor living conditions and very little money. Love on the Dole is a great depiction of this; written in the '30s, Greenwood holds nothing back. We see unemployment, the new role of women, leisure activities, poverty, humiliation and love. This has set an accurate image in my mind of the 1930s. I liked the character of Sally, she was a headstrong, independent girl who knew what she wanted, which was a new identity for women. She was pursued by many men, two of whom I despised! This pleases me because it means I made a strong connection with the book. Harry on the other hand, he annoyed me some what. He sulked and whinged a lot, however this is probably quite an accurate portrayal of the effect the Depression had on ordinary people. I enjoyed this novel. It was a good story as well as an excellent historical source. 7/10

I don't mind Karen either, I liked her and Matthew in Diet on the Dancefloor. He is kinda hot! He reminds me a bit of Orlando Bloom I want Lisa Snowden to win, but I'm not sure she will......Followed closely by Austen, then John

I have just finished Broad Street by Christine Weiser, which was a reviewer book, and really enjoyed it

This is not only the first book by the author Christine Weiser, but it is also the first book to be released by the publisher PS Books, which is part of the literary magazine Philadelpha Stories. This is another book that had a cover which jumped out at me and immediately made me want to read the book: Blurb from back cover: Christine Weiser's debut novel follows the all-girl rock group, Broad Street, through the highs and lows of struggling for success in the male-dominated, mid-'90s Philadelphia rock scene. When Kit Greene and Margo Bevilacqua make a drunken pact to form a band with the sole purpose of outshining the musical men in their lives, they have no idea what awaits them: gigs in seedy bars, obsessed fans, threats from a stalker, parties with biker gangs, and a seemingly endless quest to secure a steady drummer. Meanwhile, both women must learn to juggle their personal, proffessional, and musical lives, deal with ex-boyfriends, mind-numbing day jobs, and hard-to-please parents as they claw their way to the top of the Philly rock scene. I really enjoyed this book and read it in two sittings. I was completely engrossed in this book and felt like I was right there alongside them in this struggle. I loved the girls and how they followed their dreams, even non-music related ones. I was cheering them on during the book, however they did some things I wasn't too impressed with. I really wanted to see them succeed in the industry, beat the other girl rock bands and find decent men!! I think my favourite part involved the bikers in DC. The guys seemed lovely - big, scary looking bikers, who actually were just softies. They made me laugh so much, what an excellent thing to have in the book. I do wonder if this is a bit auto-biographical as we are told on the back cover that Christine Weiser was a bass player for the Philly band Mae Pang - and Kit plays bass and there the name Mae Pang is subtly entered into the text. I didn't like all the drinking, sex and drug taking, and there was a bit of bad language, but I guess Weiser is trying to re-create the '90s rock scene. Broad Street was a really enjoyable book. 8/10

Hello, welcome!

This is a good review, thanks. This is going on my list too!

Great review! I'll be adding it to my list of books to get my hands on

I agree Diane. Seems like a wonderful book

Hey! Welcome to the forum

Yeah I thought it was really good. The review can be found here

I would have liked to see him learn ballroom. I wanted the GMTV presenter to go. What's wrong with Karen? She will probably be around on the Sunday show.

I really enjoyed these books

He is kinda creepy to be fair. Its all exciting though! I love Ando and Hiro, they are both so funny!!

This sounds really good

He looked so cute after he had danced, I almost thought he was going to cry. Not sure who I want to go, but I want Austen and John to stay in the competition - as well as Gary (who I think can't dance) but only because I like Karen

Loving this season already!

I loved The Boyeln Inheritance too, possibly a little more than I liked The Other Boyeln Girl

The last time I saw Laurent Jammet, he was in Scott's store with a dead wolf over his shoulder The Tenderness of Wolves: Stef Penney

Amazon synopsis: I'm afraid this is a book I have had to give up on. Fifty pages in and I was struggling to pick up the story line. The narrative was confusing because it followed Lucy's thoughts, which meant it was a bit of a jumble. I had trouble keeping track of who the characters were too as they jumped between names and nicknames. The problem may have been I haven't read Fiona Neill's The Slummy Mummy, but whether that is the problem or not, I am not continuing with the book.

Hey Charley, welcome!