Ben

Well I'm 70% (according to my Kindle) of the way through Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and so far it's fantastic. I really like the way in which Lee writes, her words work on so many different levels. I'm quite certain I'll race through the remaining pages as I really want to see how this is going to turn out.

Ah, damn these excellent novels. It's so frustrating when you want to scream from the rooftops how much you enjoyed a novel but can't seem to formulate the words. Particularly when I'd love to strongly recommend it to people with justifications other than 'it's amazing.'

It was wonderful. I was thinking about doing a review or just typing up some thoughts on it when I thought to myself that no matter what I tried to say about it, I wouldn't be able to do it justice. I'm not sure if it's because it's so vast and so much happens, or because I wouldn't want to ruin a single word to someone that hadn't read it, but for the first time ever I'm loathe to add my thoughts other than to just say that everyone should read it.

To read alongside To Kill a Mockingbird which I am reading for my '2012 Summer Classics' challenge, I am also going to read If You're Reading This I'm Already Dead by Andrew Nicoll which is a review book from Quercus and which looks great. Synopsis: Sitting in his caravan, drinking what is left of his coffee (dust), Otto has narrowly escaped death at the hands of allied bombs. Convinced his luck has run out and he will not see morning, he decides to record the story of his life for the poor soul who finds his body. And what a story it is. Years earlier, when he was working in either Buda or Pest, working at the circus, a newspaper article was brought to his attention. Why? Because in it was a picture of a Turkish prince, called to Albania to be their new king. And this prince just so happened to bear a striking resemblance to Otto... A plan is formed, adventure is born and with the help of Otto's friends, enemies (and a camel), Albania is about to get a king it never bargained for. This looks like a very odd story but one which sounds like it could be pretty amusing and quite enjoyable. I'm looking forward to it.

Finished The Count of Monte Cristo which was absolutely incredible, and can now at long last start To Kill a Mockingbird. Synopsis: Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird'. A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a coming-of-age story, an anti-racist novel, a historical drama of the Great Depression and a sublime example of the Southern writing tradition. I've remained ignorant of this for too long, that is finally about to change.

Finished The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and oh my word, what a remarkable read. Ever since I got two thirds of the way through, or thereabouts, about two years ago, I often wondered how the novel would develop in the latter stages. I deeply regret never making myself finish it, for it was truly wonderful. I can't do it justice with words but it really was a sprawling, meticulously-detailed novel, that I would recommend to pretty much everyone I know. 5/5.

Just watched No Strings Attached. I know it was awful, and I should hate it, but surprisingly I actually enjoyed it. I have absolutely no defence aside from the fact I can comfortably watch Natalie Portman for two hours.

I'm nearly there, just another one hundred and fifty pages of The Count of Monte Cristo which has been a truly epic read.

Well I now have a Kindle version so at least I'll get to read it, but I have no doubt that when I enjoy it I'll add it to the tree-book collection.

Ah you should, it's worth every last word.

A couple of lovely days weather-wise has equated to fantastic reading days in the sunshine. I'm now eight hundred or so pages through The Count of Monte Cristo and I expect to finish it in two to three days as I simply can't put it down.

I have a big gold book with them all and the only difficult thing about it is that it's almost impossible to read when I'm on the move somewhere (say in the car, train, bus, etc.). The major pro of being able to go straight to the next story and have them all together in one collection is however is the selling point for me; I'd much prefer to have them like this than separately.

Ah, Kylie to the rescue, I should expect nothing less. I am now the happy owner of a Kindle version of To Kill a Mockingbird that no longer has problems putting its lines straight. My many thanks to her as it now means I won't miss out on a novel I'm sure I'm going to enjoy. I'm holding it waiting in the wings for when I finish The Count of Monte Cristo which I aim to finish in two or three days, as I really can't put it down.

Here's my review of The Bones of Avignon by Jefferson Bass. Great read. 4/5.

I didn't, couldn't get started because my Kindle copy has major line-spacing issues. I looked around for another version but couldn't find any, only study guides and the like. I also really don't have the space to be buying any more paper copies at the moment, unfortunately.

Hey Dori, welcome to the forum, I can see you're going to love it.

Yup, it's great. Disappointed I couldn't read To Kill a Mockingbird but I'll get around to it I'm sure.

Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo really is an absolute cracker of a read. It's sprawling, cleverly written, historically intriguing, and utterly compelling. It's length prevents it from being a quick read and in some ways I'm glad: it forces me to slow down and savour every last word. After an excellent day sat reading in the sunshine I'm coming up to roughly halfway, and I'm certainly excited to see where it goes next.

Well I have been making steady progress with The Count of Monte Cristo and it really is a cracking read. It's length is enough to dissuade most people, but I wish it wasn't, for I am enjoying every last word. I managed to have an extraordinarily good reading day today in the sunshine, and as a result I've raced through a good couple of hundred pages. So that means I'm just about halfway through.

Highly doubt it.

No no, I read about a hundred pages last night, the rest I'd already read in previous days. Ah, it's certainly a wonderful read but it's just finding the time to tackle it. I read about two thirds of the way through a couple of years ago and I've been disappointed ever since that I didn't finish.

Finished The Bones of Avignon by Jefferson Bass last night, so immediately turned my attentions to Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. I'm about three hundred pages through now and it's coming along rather nicely.

Managed to have a good reading day today and have now almost finished The Bones of Avignon. I seemed to get lost in it today and as a result there's not much more than fifty pages left. I'm hoping the finale will bring together everything quite nicely and not leave me feeling disappointed. I assume I'll finish when I drag myself off here, so I shall post my review sometime tomorrow.

Spent the best part of the day reading The Bones of Avignon and I'm about to retire in order to finish the last fifty pages or so. It's been an enjoyable read so far and I'm looking forward to seeing how it concludes.