Ben

Great introduction, welcome to BCF. *waves* First job: I think you should work on taming that rabbit of yours.

Well I haven't got to that bit yet but I'm going to guess no.

Making a start on The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura, a review book from Corsair. It looks absolutely fantastic. Synopsis: The thief is a seasoned pickpocket. Anonymous in his tailored suit, he weaves through Tokyo's crowds so smoothly sometimes he doesn't even remember the snatch. Most people are a blur to him, the nameless faces of his victims. He has no family, friends, or connections. But he does have a past, which catches up with him when Ishikawa, his first partner, reappears and offers him a job he can't refuse. It is an easy job: tie up an old, rich man, steal the contents of the safe. No one gets hurt. Only the day after the job does he learn that the old man was a prominent politician, and that he was brutally killed after the robbery. And now the Thief is caught in a tangle from which even he might not be able to escape.

Finished Betrayed by P.C & Kristin Cast last night. I won't bother with my thoughts as it'll be almost impossible to keep it spoiler-free for those that haven't read the first one, Marked, as of yet. It was enjoyable though, and marginally better than the first in my opinion. Still with just enough to hold my attention and make me consider reading the next book in the series. 3/5.

That makes a lot of sense to be honest, I think I'd be the same if I rated out of ten. It'd only be the really special ones that'd get 10/10.

Oh god, we don't do things easy!

I think I need to start rating out of ten rather than five, because I end up with a lot of 'top level' rates and then when I look through the list I realise that some were miles better than others. In all fairness though, I have had some fantastic reads so far, so I've probably got a lot more five star ratings than usual.

So I've decided to give the second House of Night novel a shot - Betrayed by P.C & Kristin Cast. Synopsis: All any of us could talk about was Chris's disappearance and how bizarre it was that he had last been seen so close to the House of Night. I didn't want to believe it. But everything inside me said that the kid would be found, but he'd be found dead... Things seem to be going pretty well for Zoey Redbird. She's settled in at the House of Night finishing school and is coming to terms with her incredible new powers. It all seems too good to be true. And guess what? Someone has begun murdering human teenagers, and all evidence points to the vampyres at Zoey's school. Sigh. And she thought her boyfriends (yes: plural) were going to be her biggest problem this year... Started this last night and so far it's holding my attention. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series after this as I've got review books waiting for me and it's about time I made a real crack at Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, but we'll see.

Watched The Talented Mr Ripley this afternoon. I thought Matt Damon was fantastic and it was an enjoyable watch.

Great thread. My 5/5's: A Room With A View by E.M Forster. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Legacy of Blood by Alex Connor. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. The Green Mile by Stephen King. Netherland by Joseph O' Neil. The Good Father by Noah Hawley. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Looks like a good first six months. Oh and I need to start rating my books out of ten.

Well, last night I finished Marked by P.C & Kristin Cast. Thoughts: I didn't go into Marked with high expectations, just with the idea that I'd have a nice, light-hearted read to ease me back into reading again after a couple of weeks where my mojo has wavered. After reading many classics in the last couple of months, I realised that this would be a step down in writing standard, but in the end I have to say I enjoyed it. The characters may be awfully one-dimensional, the writing may not ooze quality, and you may often find yourself cringing at some of the dialogue or decisions the characters make; but if you want light-hearted release it does the job. I'm sure I'm not the only person that's needed a 'break' for something easier occasionally. Despite this easy-reading, however, sometimes the language can be coarse and vulgar and I wouldn't recommend this to younger readers at all; a shame because I think this would be an enjoyable read for those in the lower age bracket if it wasn't littered with words and descriptions unsuitable for them. All in all then a decent read, and I'll most likely have a go at the second in the series entitled Betrayed. 3/5.

Thanks Andrea. I think you're probably right that you have to be in a certain mood for it in all fairness. It also takes a lot of concentration to read in my opinion, so I can completely understand why some people just wouldn't 'get' it. I definitely think you need to give it a fair chance, though; the writing takes a bit of getting used to. It was certainly a rewarding read for me in the end.

Slow reading period at the moment, lost my mojo somewhere and Crime and Punishment isn't the best book to be reading when going through a rough patch. Against my better judgement I've decided to read Marked by P.C and Kristin Cast. I've read it before so it won't contribute to my TBR pile going down and it's veering from my 'classics' challenge, but I need some light-hearted reading for the moment. Synopsis: When sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird gets Marked as a fledgling vampire she must join the House of Night school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change. But Zoe is no ordinary fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the Goddess Nyx and discovers her amazing new power to conjure the elements: earth, air, fire, water and spirit. When Zoey discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look within herself to embrace her destiny - with a little help from her new vampire friends.

Um, yeah, I started watching Game of Thrones last night and have just finished Season 1. I absolutely loved it and couldn't drag myself away from my screen. Having not read the books I can't comment on how faithful the characters are to Martin's novels, but I thought there was good acting throughout. My favourite characters were Tyrion, Syrio and Arya, all of which I hope I see more of in Season 2. I know what I'll be watching in the next few days.

Entirely possible! I can't see us not getting through now after we've picked up a point against France. Sweden and Ukraine both looked poor in their match against each other and I'd be reasonably confident we can pick up points again both. Although it is England, so you never know.

Spanish football is usually great to watch anyway, so can't blame you for that. Was pleasantly surprised with England earlier, I think we played well and we can definitely build on it for the next two games. A draw is a great result for us against France, with Ukraine and Sweden to play, and I'm more confident we'll go through now (whether in first or second I'm not as sure).

Oh Noll, you're like my friend who pretty much hates all football. He was really confused when he started seeing loads of flags all over our village, and would have been undoubtedly completely unaware that we were playing if he hadn't seen it on Facebook. Anyway, you're welcome for the thread.

Yeah, so did I but after Ireland's good run of recent form I thought they might push them hard. Rather disappointed. Oh without a doubt. As soon as I found out that they'd be starting without strikers, like you I was baffled. They had an abundance of talent in midfield but like you say it was always going to be a tough ask to pass their way into the goal with an Italian defence. The goal displayed the kind of thing they can do with that type of football, and I'd expect them to do it more comfortably against Croatia and Ireland if they decide they're sticking with that strategy. I agree. What on earth was he doing when he went past Ramos then dawdled his way to the goal thinking that he'd have all the time in the world. Useless. I'll be honest, I'm not confident at all. France look fantastic and the whole sitting back and taking the few chances we get (like Chelsea against Barcelona in the Champions League), won't work in my eyes. We have a strong defence and goalkeeper even with the injuries we've had, but I still doubt we have enough to hold out. I'd actually rather not see us play like that either, we have strength in midfield and if we can take the game to them perhaps we'll have some sort of a chance. We'll see.

Spirited but ultimately poor effort from the Irish to go down 3-1 to Croatia. Tthey really don't often concede three goals and will be disappointed that they did. I thought they showed great determination, particularly to get the scores level again, but in the end the better team won. I had them down to win on my predictions but I didn't really believe they would, just fancied putting it down in case there was an upset. It'll be a tough ask for the Irish to pick up any points now. Spain were disappointing today, they lacked that killer touch upfront, perhaps from not playing a striker? I'd still expect them to go on and make short work of the other teams, but I was surprised they couldn't do any better than 1-1 against Italy this evening. England tomorrow, that should be fun..

Probably did.

In which case that makes much more sense. It seems it was true - unbelievable. I've never seen it before although they're saying Barcelona have done it numerous times. I think they'll be okay as they've got more than enough class in midfield to get the goals, but you'd think they would have at least had one playing upfront.

I'm not putting any real life money on any of them, I don't gamble, just want to predict each match purely because I enjoy the football. Yeah, agreed with Denmark, I thought they might be able to grab a draw possibly but don't think many saw them beating Holland. Lewandowski looks great but I'm convinced it'll be one of the 'bigger' team's players that'll get it, probably one of the Germans. England to finish last made me laugh. I agree with the Huntelaar decision, I really rate him as a forward. Your right though, they looked like they couldn't gel properly out there. They'll need some good results to come through the group now.

So that's the second day of the Euros over and it's been a good day of football with the first major upset of the tournament. I was surprised that Denmark managed to put the stoppers on hotly-tipped Holland and win 1-0 despite Holland's twenty-eight attempts on goal. In a tough group they have had the worst possible start. Tonight's game with Germany and Portugal was a bit of a dull affair which only sparked into life during the last twenty minutes, after Gomez's fantastic 72' minute goal for the Germans. It opened the game up but Portugal couldn't get back into the match which meant the solitary German goal was enough; 1-0 and three early points in their quest to win the Euros this year. As for second day predictions I once again got one right and one wrong and I'm extremely disappointed in Holland not taking their chances.

Thank you! I agree it certainly was difficult to write about, but I had to give it a go and I'm glad people enjoyed the review. It's true that sometimes it takes time and I'm delighted that you're going to give it another go based on my review (thank you by the way), but I think I'd be inclined to agree with what Kidsmum said above. It may just be that this just isn't your kind of novel at all. Thanks Paula, I hope you do get a chance to read it at some stage. Let me know if you ever do.

I think if the funny moments don't jump out immediately (like Kylie said, I could list endless examples of witty, funny dialogue, descriptions), then it's probably not your type of humour. I can see how people wouldn't get into the novel, I was just one of those in the opposite camp. I'm glad you've decided to give it another go, though, I think it does require close concentration. Oh don't get me wrong, I did find Pride and Prejudice funny, it's a great novel. I only meant that it may not get into my top ten because of other favourites like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Picture of Dorian Gray. As for The Great Gatsby I think it's one of my most-read books of all time and I absolutely love it. Just shows how we all have different tastes - it would be boring otherwise. Yep, that would make sense. I think I'm going to go into the cinema expecting a good, solid film and nothing amazing. If he pulls that off I'll be pleased, if he does better than my expectations then all the better.