Ben

*bows to Claire.* That's an impressive find.

Ah drat that is a good idea that I haven't seen until it's a little too late. I have already ordered the books, but I guess that it will be good to have new, fresh copies for my own perusal anyway; if it wasn't books I was buying then I'd complain about the cost. However, my parents don't seem to mind at all as it is for my studies after all, and they're so proud that I've been accepted. It's a shame I didn't see this before, but nevertheless I am looking forward to the many parcels that will be waiting for me when I get home.

Searching for all the correct editions of these books is such a pain. I've had to trawl through and sign up to at least four websites to get all the correct editions, and the total cost is going to be extensive, in the region of a hundred pounds. It's a necessary evil, however, so later today I'm going to buy them all and start getting them delivered to my house for when I get home. That way, I can start using the next month to get ahead on some of my reading material before term starts. Something I'm quite excited about, I must admit.

That is very true Claire; plus it would be boring if we all liked the same books. It doesn't does it? Bit apprehensive about getting started, leaving it until last. Will definitely be getting the third one soon, Eldest was brilliant. Oh and I've received my book-list from university for my studies in September. I won't type it all out because it's long but over the next month or so the books you'll see me reading will probably be on the list. If anyone's really interested I can send it. Put it this way, I'm excited. Despite that though, there's a lot of books I definitely don't have and the whole lot is going to cost me an absolute fortune. I'm looking at nearly 100 pound just for the first semester. Ah, I'm sure I can see if my grandma has any, and I'll work from there; least I'll have a decent excuse to go book shopping on a large scale.

Oh snap guys you've really sold this one to me, haha. Thanks for the link Claire I'll pop in there with my thoughts when I'm done, though from what you've said maybe these thoughts won't be favourable haha.

She'd surely have to publish under a pseudonym like Claire said, though. It would be impossible for anything to be judged fairly otherwise..

Sorry missed this Inver, yes it is; been meaning to get the rest for a while so I thought I'd try get through the first three before Inheritance hits the stores. My book activity today has consisted solely of packing books for the holidays.

It does look like an interesting read; I studied Russia at school, so should know a bit of back-story to what's going on.

Will bare it in mind, thanks.

I'm just looking forward to her 18,000 words of HP back-story, then she can publish some new books.

I absolutely loved American Gods so I've surely got to add this one to my wishlist now, after such a glowing review from you.

Finished Eldest by Christopher Paolini in the early hours of this morning, and even though I don't really have time to review it and put up some proper thoughts, I will say that I thought it was fantastically well-written with action aplenty and numerous twists and turns that caught me by surprise. Although a novel about Eragon's brilliant journey, this - the second book in the series - leaned a lot towards focusing on Eragon's family and friends in Carvahall as well. I found the second book more enjoyable than Eragon and whilst it maintained the traditional fantasy elements within the story, it also talks philosophy and discusses a lot of interesting points when read closely. I would recommend the series to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy tale, and I will be looking for Brisingr very soon. I've also decided on five books to take on holiday with me tomorrow; I will read more than that but I'm taking my iPad and Kindle with me also. Holiday Books The Lacuna. - Babara Kingsolver. Hell Gate. - Linda Fairstein. The Long Song. - Andrea Levy. From Dead To Worse. - Charlaine Harris. Afterwards. - Rosamund Lupton. I'm happy with those choices, and at least I know I have countless more books just at my fingertips whilst I'm there.

Surely not?! I must ask the reasoning behind the hate; I think it's fantastic.

Good luck to everyone's teams as the new season begins.. definitely missed the football this summer!

I think it is possible to enjoy a novel that you're asked to read, but I think it's harder to enjoy it than it is to enjoy a book that you've picked up of your own accord. I think when you've been asked to read a certain book, it sticks in the back of your mind somewhere that it wasn't your choice, thus you go into reading it with a different mindset than when you read a book of your own choice. However, I do think it's possible to enjoy it, as I enjoyed immensely The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald that I had to read as one of my school texts.

His Dark Materials is my favourite series of all time. Anyway, welcome to BCF, look forward to seeing you around.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I think it's great that it gives the opportunity for there to be a gem found within the rough; but of course that's the crux of the problem. The numbers are huge for people turning to Kindle self-publishing, and although I wouldn't begrudge people putting out their work it seems that a high percentage of the books that are churned out are quite poor. All in all I think their needs to be something done about the sheer numbers of books going through the self-publishing system, otherwise it's just going to become over-run. Although I really don't have a clue what they could do.

Welcome to BCF.

Hey that's the magic of books. We can't explain our attraction to them, and it would be boring if we all enjoyed the same ones, for sure. At least you know you're not the only one that's become caught up in them.

Oooh, thank you for the King recommendations, I've always wanted to read some of his better stuff but it's often a wonder where to start! Ah as for The Scarlet Letter I don't own a copy so it's more likely you'll read it first, but I'll get myself a copy one day, I'm sure. Also great hauls.. as usual.