Ben

No problem, I do hope you love it as much as me!

I honestly couldn't recommend it enough. Personally, the things that they have changed are nothing but improvements. The touch-screen control is fluid and easy to use, with the added bonus that the swipe-system to change a page works just as well as the button on the side, if not better. I didn't mind using the keyboard in the past but overall the new Kindle Paperwhite in my eyes is much more accessible (definitely easy to navigate - store, downloads, etc. as well). I would recommend getting one of the covers that they sell, too. It seemed a little steep to me at £30 or so, but it seems to be consistent with other prices for covers across other companies (although I haven't done much research on this so it may pay - literally - to check). If you do get one, though, they're great: flicking it open and shut automatically turns your Kindle on and off (in sleep mode) so you never have to worry about remembering to switch it off. A few caveats to be aware of, though. The speakers have been removed (no headphone jack either), which means the loss of the MP3, text-to-audio, and audio-book features. Luckily, I never used any of these so it hasn't bothered me in the slightest but it's worth noting if those type of features were one's you used. All in all, then, I absolutely love it, and I'm glad I invested in an upgrade!

I'm a bit up in the air with The Street Lawyer. It was good, but not great. I think it was because for a lot of the time I was expecting it to race to some dramatic conclusion (probably in part to my crime thriller spurt I've been on in recent weeks) and in the end it sort of whimpered out. I think it's more moralistic as opposed to action-packed, and I appreciate the message he was trying to get across with the protagonist Michael, but I think it could have been done better. That being said, I'm definitely going to check out more of Grisham's works. Thank you. Looking through the list (they haven't arrived yet so I've been doing the second option and prowling the lists in anticipation) I think there will be a fair few of interest. You're right - chemistry certainly does sound difficult to me. *laughs* You're welcome, though - I know people on here love lists and I thought a couple might be interested in my planned reads for the next couple of months (most likely all of July will be taken up with university reads). I'm a bit anxious about new Eliot. I really struggled with Felix Holt: The Radical but have heard good things from Middlemarch which is on the to-be-read pile. Thanks for letting me know you're opinion of Adam Bede. Apparently 'Brother Jacob' is only a short story, so even if I don't like it, at the very least it'll only be short.

Thought your kiss-of-death had taken its toll when she dropped the first set, but alas she thankfully saw it through. Let's see if she can at least give Serena a decent match, even if Serena does look in such ominously ruthless form.. I have to say, Laura Robson is without a doubt becoming my favourite player to watch. It's refreshing to see such young talent performing well (Keys, Tomic, Lisicki..) and our Laura is right up there battling with them and breaking records as she goes. So well deserved. Plus.. she's British too - madness! I'm not used to having someone other than Murray to patriotically cheer for! The potential Murray/Djokovic (as it was always expected, really..) final is mouth-watering. I can't wait for the second week now..

Woo this is great news. I picked it at random from the list - I clearly have excellent instincts.

It's just because we're all so eager to get started, Karen.

Mixed emotions at the fact that I've just ordered 28 books to be delivered. I mean, on the one hand that's twenty-eight new books. *does happy dance* But on the other, they're all for my third year at university and the fact that they're officially on their way means I'm going to have to start studying again soon. In addition, I'd just got my to-be-read pile under 200. Anyway, book deliveries on their way in case anyone's interested: Semester 1 Life Writing De Quincey, Thomas (1822; 1989) Confessions of an English Opium Eater. Gosse, Edmund (1907; 1989) Father and Son. Hong Kingston, Maxine (1977) The Woman Warrior. Joyce, James (1915; 1992) A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Morrison, Blake (1998) And When Did You Last See your Father? The Postcolonial City Phillips, Caryl (2007) 'Northern Lights' (copy provided). Vladislavic, Ivan (2006) Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked. Ondaatje, Michael (1987) In the Skin of a Lion. Rushdie, Salman (1988) The Satanic Verses. Chandra, Vikram (1997) Love and Longing in Bombay. Shamsie, Kamila (2003) Kartography. Creative Writing* Du Maurier, Daphne (2005) The Rendevous and Other Stories. Joyce, James (1977) The Dubliners. Shields, Carol (2000) Dressing Up For The Carnival London. Smith, Ali (2003) The Whole Story. Armitage, Simon (2001) Selected Poems. Astley, Neil (ed) (2002) Staying Alive: real poems for unreal times. *There's a huge list of books for this module but the idea is to explore them. We have to pick four out of a possible eight to do as our primary sources. I've bought six of them and will get the other two out of the library then decide on my four from there. The rest of the massive list I'll probably just explore at random and pick some of them up from the library. Semester 2 Writing Violence in the Indian Subcontinent Rushdie, Salman (1981) Midnight’s Children. Sidhwa, Bapsi (1992) Cracking India. Ghosh, Amitav (1988) The Shadow Lines. Ali, Agha Shahid (1997) The Country Without a Post Office. Ondaatje, Michael (2001) Anil’s Ghost. Selvadurai, Shyam (1994) Funny Boy: A Novel in Six Stories. Theories of the Novel Pamela by Samuel Richardson. Adam Bede by George Eliot. The Waves by Virginia Woolf. A Maggot by John Fowles. Victorian Literature and Atlantic Slavery Mary Prince, The History of Mary Prince (1831). John Thomas Haines, My Poll and My Partner Joe (first performed 1835; published 1866). Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847). Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (1847). George Eliot, ‘Brother Jacob’ (1860). -- So yeah, that's the list and that's my six modules (three each term). Additionally, I'll have my dissertation project of which I've sent off two ideas for confirmation. I'll be getting my allocation back "by the end of June" so shouldn't have too long to wait (could mean there's some more books to order ). It looks like it's going to be a lot of hard work but I'm ready for the challenge. Hopefully I'll find some exciting books in my final *gulp* year.

I tried doing it like that but I thought that I was wrong. I don't know what I was trying to do to be honest.. maybe I should try sleeping now and again. Thanks for helping!

Okay, this isn't homework (I do a literature degree, hence why I'm not great at percentages. *laughs*) I just need to know how to do it so I can work some things out. However, if the thread isn't appropriate mods feel free to delete. Right. Percentages. If I had, say, two separate totals, 68 + 70. The first of these is 25% of the final 'mark', the second 75%. Now how do I work out the average 'mark' from there? Confused doesn't cover it right now..

Decided to read my first John Grisham and I've somewhat predictably gone for The Street Lawyer for no other reason than it's on my to-be-read pile.. Synopsis: Michael Brock is a man in a hurry. He's in the fast lane at Drake & Sweeney, a giant Washington law firm. He's a rising star, with no time to waste, no time to toss a few coins into the hands of beggars. No time for a conscience. But a chance violent encounter with a homeless man stops him cold. The fallout propels him onto a trail of corruption and illegality which leads straight back to Drake & Sweeney. To get to the truth, Michael will have to dig deep into some of his own firm's dirtiest secrets... -- Corruption, dirty secrets, violence.. sounds charming and great.

Final season coming up.. the end begins. I really hope it's an explosive final eight episodes. I'm excited.

Will probably be a Murray/Djokovic final.. I'm all for upsets but there's been too many too early, and the amount of withdrawals is awful to hear about.

The Kindle Paperwhite is in the building. Thankfully, maybe I can stop obsessively refreshing the tracking option on Amazon in order to see how close it's got to my house. I'm sure they shouldn't make it so you can do that.. I can never get anything done while I'm waiting. It's like Christmas. -- In other reading news I raced through The Bone Collector by Jeffrey Deaver last night, and really enjoyed it. I'm not sure where my sudden crime thriller spurt has come from this month (perhaps it's because I've got loads dotted around unread that I usually avoid) but I'm really enjoying it. I love the suspenseful page-turning, the thrill of trying to guess, and then second-guess yourself, repeatedly. Deaver's novel is another great effort. Lincoln Rhyme is a protagonist like no other. I had worries that Deaver wouldn't be able to make an engaging central character out of a quadriplegic who is bed-ridden, always exhausted, and ultimately considering suicide - but thankfully, I was wrong. Rhyme is a sensational forensic expert whose mind reminded me of Sherlock Holmes - quick, alert, and often picking up on clues that to others weren't noticeable. This is a very well-crafted book. Deaver draws us in expertly and doesn't let go. The dénouement for me was particularly effective, bringing the story around in a full circle. I thought there was something rather touching about the novel, while at the same time being decidedly action-packed. All in all, then, a really enjoyable thriller that had me anxious to find out what was about to happen next. ★★★★☆.

Laura's going to beat Serena after she's seen off some of the others. Then we're going to have two British winners of Wimbledon in one year. *cranks up the hype machine*

First up.. the Kindle Paperwhite has been dispatched. My new baby is on its way. So I started and finished The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold in pretty much one setting yesterday. I hovered between three and four starts before finally giving it the latter. I'm not sure about all the hype that it received (seemed overly built up as spectacular) but I did enjoy it. It's elegantly written - I was sad and tearful one moment, then laughing incredulously the next. So it was emotional, and I liked Sebold's concept of an individual, private heaven. I think what stopped it from blowing me away entirely is the plot is pretty slow going (intentionally so), and it has a rather lacklustre - although understandable - ending. It tied up the loose ends for me but seemed to bow out with a whimper. Still a very touching and emotional novel - for me at least. ★★★★☆. In other reading news I'm not quite sure what's going on with Zadie Smith's NW so far, it's really not grabbing me at all. I can appreciate what she's trying to do, creating snapshots of London life through different races and cultures, but just over a hundred pages in it's not grabbing me as much as White Teeth. Her lyrical, abstract style of narration is quite distracting, and that plot hasn't taken off yet (although it does still have plenty of time to do so). I'll persevere but it's not doing much for me at the minute. I've decided to read Jeffery Deaver's The Bone Collector next as I've been on a bit of a crime fiction kick recently. Will be interested to see how our detective compares to people like Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, Red in Messiah, and Kevin Byrne in the Montanari novels. Synopsis: New York City is thrown into chaos by the assaults of the Bone Collector, a serial kidnapper and killer who gives the police a chance to save his victims from death by leaving obscure clues. The cops go to Lincoln Rhyme, an ex-NYPD forensics expert left paralysed after an accident on the job. Rhyme reluctantly postpones his ambitions towards suicide and puts together a forensic investigation team, enlisting as his eyes and ears young police officer Amelia Sachs. Rhyme digs deep into the only world he has left - his astonishing mind - and slowly begins to narrow the noose around the Bone Collector. But the kidnapper is narrowing his own noose - around Lincoln Rhyme. -- Expecting another thrilling page-turner from this one.

Disappointing. I know some people don't like him but I'd rather see a tougher last few rounds with better matches. Darcis played well, and deserved it in the end, but he won't do well in the latter stages. Well, he might, but I doubt it.. Silver lining: one of the major contenders is down already for Murray - more than he could have hoped for. He looked very comfortable today against Becker (I was mildly surprised Benjamin didn't push him a bit further as he took him to a tie-breaker at Queens) and moved well on the court. Looking forward to seeing how he gets on with the rest of the competition. Also, a quick congratulations to Tsonga, who's always a favourite, and Hewitt who I love seeing win at Wimbledon. Wawrinka has been in great form recently too, so although I didn't actually see it that's a cracking result from Lleyton. I love Wimbledon.

Thanks Athena, I'm glad you enjoyed the review..

Was lucky enough to get this one passed on from Michelle to review for BCF. Will be going up on the blog but I'll post it here as well. The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison. Published: June 25. Headline. -- A.S.A. Harrison's The Silent Wife is an engaging foray into the complexities of the human psyche - a psychological exploration of one couple’s long-lasting relationship that now threatens to break apart in spectacular fashion. The familiarity and routine that has for so long has held the good ship of life in a relatively study position, now suddenly threatens to collapse and dash everything against the rocks. Jodi and Todd are living a life of comfort and relative luxury. With a beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago, furnished with everything they could ever need, they have settled into a routine way of living that seems to work for both of them. With solid jobs – her working part-time as a psychiatrist who works from home and him as a building investor that makes enough money to comfortably get by – it soon becomes clear that the only thing that is turbulent about their lives is undoubtedly their marriage. He is a serial adulterer, she a hopelessly naïve individual who is in constant denial. Each exists in their own private world, and the discussions over wine and dutifully-cooked dinner essentially avoid the problems that they - each in their own way - pretend do not exist. Disclaimer: if you want characters that are decidedly wonderful and who you would probably go out for drinks with, this may not be the novel for you. Harrison’s characters for the most part have awful personalities, are essentially flawed. Todd fancies himself as the ultimate playboy – a bit of a stud that roves his eyes over a multitude of girls, objectifying them at will, his self-confidence and conceit evidently knowing no bounds. He is selfish, ignorant, and a compulsive liar. He never considers himself to be in the wrong, even in the most outrageous of situations - even when he goes so far that even he cannot talk his way out of trouble. It is unsurprising, then, that Todd, by his very nature, struggles to elicit any sympathy from the reader. It would seem logical to make the assumption that Jodi – someone who has to deal with a character as ridiculous and as obnoxious as Todd – would be easier to invest in for the reader. However, for the most part it is a struggle to feel nothing but contempt for someone who seems to have zero objections to it all, content in the apparent safety of her home and general situation. Even as she works with a variety of different clients, talking to them, helping them resolve their problems, she displaces her own – both in the present and from the past. Even when given solid evidence that everything is not quite as secure as it seems, she is still incredibly reluctant to create a fuss. Only when things get to their most extreme and she is driven as far as she can take, does she decide to take matters into her own hands. Harrison’s cast of supporting characters are not overwhelmingly strong, but they offer a nice balance. A lawyer that Todd has known for as long as he can remember – bitter because of the string of divorces he has behind him; a receptionist that is forever drinking all the expensive coffee, and who can successfully unnerve the normally unflappable Todd. Throw in your pregnant girlfriend’s father and you have a character-list that bubbles away menacingly, threatening to boil over at any moment. The author deftly manages to cleverly intertwine the past and present in a narrative that will have you on tenterhooks as you eagerly flip the pages in anticipation. Sadly, A.S.A. Harrison cruelly passed from the world before she had chance to see The Silent Wife go to publication, but she was rightfully proud of what she created. A deliciously entertaining roller-coaster of a novel, jam-packed with love, betrayal, death, this is a novel that deserves every bit of the attention that it will undoubtedly receive.

Pretty awful choke. I would have fancied India nine times out of ten, but 130 was a perfectly chase-able target and we bottled it really.

Not sure how we scraped that game yesterday.. thankful for that hideous kicking at the end.

So do I. Wish I'd have got the quickest delivery though, impatient to start using it now..

Decided to read Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones next - another that I've been meaning to read for some time now. I've got a few Kindle books that should be soon on my list of books-to-read, so I eagerly await the arrival of my Paperwhite in the coming days. In the meantime.. Synopsis: My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973. My murderer was a man from our neighborhood. My mother liked his border flowers, and my father talked to him once about fertilizer. This is Susie Salmon. Watching from heaven, Susie sees her happy, suburban family devastated by her death, isolated even from one another as they each try to cope with their terrible loss alone. Over the years, her friends and siblings grow up, fall in love, do all the things she never had the chance to do herself. But life is not quite finished with Susie yet... -- This sounds great, I had better get started..

Couple of ratings/thoughts on books I've finished for you guys (I really don't have time to review at the moment, but when I do they're still coming). Messiah by Boris Starling was a really entertaining crime thriller. Starling sets things up wonderfully, giving the story time to breathe for the first half of the book, before going in with renewed gusto for the latter stages. The dénouement is excellent, with a particularly clever twist. Starling manages to bring the story of our protagonist Red around in a full circle, and intertwines the tenses adeptly - not to mention the multiple narrative perspectives, which he also does well. All in all I'd recommend to anyone that likes a perfectly crafted thriller, but I wouldn't recommend it for the faint-hearted (particularly gruesome murders are aplenty), younger kids (violence, some bad language) or anyone that has things to do. This is properly difficult to put down once you've started and the hours will race away before you know it. ★★★★☆. I also started and finished Patricia Cornwell's The Front last night - a short and snappy read that clocks in at just under 200 pages. I don't know if this was my fault, as it's the second book in a series and I read them out of order, but I really didn't enjoy it all. Our protagonist Win is particularly boring (if you want entertaining detectives look no further than Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon and Red in Messiah) and the plot was decidedly dull. I have no doubt that she can craft a good thriller but this one just lacked any sort of oomph for me. I also think it was too short, personally. 200 pages isn't enough to set up characters, plot, etc. I would've liked extra, 'background' characters to have been acting suspicious, putting us off the scent. I'm usually compelled by the question of who but this time I didn't really care about the reveal. Apparently her other series is better, so I may go back to that at some stage. I'm also tempted by the first book in the series - The Risk - but I'm not rushing out to get it - particularly on the basis of this poor effort. ★★☆☆☆.